Well, corksink, experienced players who have dealt with maps of this type simply solve the problem by launching the editor. :) You just need to keep in mind that players with little free time won't even start playing the map after studying it.
I guessed that what's happening to the player at the beginning is your evil joke. But, honestly, after sailing around the sea for a while and realizing that there's still a lot to sail, and... I started playing another map, of the "classic" type.
The only thing that still interests me: can you get the Boots? There isn't a land tile there, and you can't swim through the sunken ships, right!? As far as I know from experience, the Dimension Door spell refuses to transport you to such tiles: the game says "The spell failed!"
Use the Dimension Door spell while sitting in the boat! It seems you haven't done this even once...
Sailing the sea is boring! Unless you're sailing to the Red Dragons' caves or taking the Dragon city and raising Red Dragons there - the quest for the Crown of Souls gives many bonuses...
The boredom of the sea can be replaced by a fun journey through other lands, but for now, since the Crown of Souls tournament is running on the hero portal, just bear with it.
There are tons of interesting playthroughs and variations on this map! I've checked it many times! Have you tried generating initial saves? Funny things appear there too. I'll reveal the secrets a little later (August 6th).
