Glad it had you hooked to enough to play it for a while!
For the kraken fight I'd definitely reccomend having the sails down for most of the fight, putting them up only when you need to quickly manoeuvre out of the way of some incoming tentacles. But I've probably played that fight more than anyone at this point, so I've worked out a few tips and tricks! :P
The collisions in general, especially with the rocks, is something we wish we had more time to clean up, for now we justify it as forcing you to make sure you're keeping an eye on your heading and properly balancing steering with the other mechanics on the ship, but it can definitely be a little more punishing than intended at times!