Okay...

Is Bloodbeard important? He started attacking me once I ran into him and so I just removed him from the game...

Also, has anyone else encoutered that their ship will just come to a stop near Talrik when travelling north past him? At first I thought that I wa too close but when I dove over and looked there was nothing there. Is this the reef than nailed Talrik?

I also got stuck there. Eventually i just reloaded, and i avoid that area.

That particular area seems to be the only area in which your ship can get stuck. While logical (I supose) it seemed like rather silly thing to include in the game. There are various methods of freeing a stuck ship using vanish (risky) or Create Portal and Teleport. Easiest thing is just to avoid the area.

Wyv