No, Conan is clearly a seasoned sailor... Otherwise, how would he have traveled half the world? But I agree that there's a reason it's written that way.
This is far from the most famous "seasoned sailor" to emphasize it so much. Why did the Master choose this particular characteristic?
Added 1 minute ago
I looked it up, and Conan is from Crimea. If we're going to make any geographical connection, I think it should be to that peninsula. But... No one has it...
Where did you find that? here there is nothing about Crimea.