I know it sounds a little ridiculous but swimming really is better then sailing so far--you don't miss the monster encounters and it seems just as fast and more convenient if the party doesn't take the ship.

From the map it looks like at some point there is a passage between The Enchanted Sea and The Lost Sea but so far it is closed off--will it open when ready?

Will there be a purpose to using the ship later on in the game?

I had three quick encouters with crabs and got three Conch Shells and could purchase two Sea Helms and two Rebreathers. Since then I have had several other crab encounters but not one new shell. Will I find more later on before I need them in new regions or is something amiss here? Thank you.

For small passages, I agree that swimming is easier; however, for the open sea the ship is MUCH faster. Remember that it, like the Nymph Lake Raft, can "run" by pressing the Run Key (default Shift) while sailing -- this speeds things up tremendously. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you have a greater line of sight when on the boat, making exploring much faster.

I don't think that you can get to the other sea until you complete the Pyramid Temple on the Desert Island.

Oh, and I've had like 30 encounters (spawn set to Often) with crabs and have gotten *TWO* shells. It's probably a random thing, like with spider eggs, but it seems that the Random Gods aren't with me on this one. I wonder if, like the spider eggs, the shells could be "pickpocketed" from the crabs...

I read somewhere on this board that the chance of a crab having a shell was approx. 80%, but only in half those cases it will leave it behind when it's killed. Trying to pickpocket it while your other characters bash it to death (or even when it's paralyzed), increases your chances to get it.