Just so you know I'm not going to talk too much about sailing in this guide. There's an abundance of material on sailing techniques. This guide is for me to share an "easy" method of navigation, game tips & tricks, and to share a few things about the Al' Ankh region that I've learned.

This Guide is ongoing, I decided to do this guide do to the lack of content on this budding masterpiece of a game. I will be updating it as I go as well as putting lots of pictures in it because who doesn't love pictures?

Alrighty, so Al' Ankh. Al Ankh is a chain of desert isles that consist of 8 islands and 6 settlements. Lucky for us new to sailing that don't know anything about sea navigation, the center island is huge and can be seen easily from any of the other islands (Even at Night!)

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE ISLANDS OR EXPLORE THEM FOR YOURSELF THE FIRST TIME!

Neverdin is the starter island if you start in the Al' Ankh region. You will start with some basic gear as well as a small sailboat. "An ancient Arabic Dhow" if you're interested. This island has a mountain and a few shops. The shops sell basic food, water, rum, fishing equipment, and lanterns, just the basics.

If you're in Neverdin and look to the North you will see the Isle of Clear Mind. Unfortunately it is uninhabited. It looks like a few large jagged mountains from a distance. This island is useful as a landmark though.

If you are on Neverdin and look to the Southeast there is a chance you will see Lions Fang. It is also just a landmark. It looks like a sharp mountain with a much smaller sharp mountain next to it sticking out of the sea.

It's a great first mission in my opinion as it is directly North of Neverdin. Al' Nilem is very distinct from a distance as it has some large wooden mining equipment on it. The island's shops and town are very comparable to Neverdin. Pretty much just all of the basics.

Depending on your approach, the Alchemist's Island can be a little distinct as it is two islands though the Western island is the one with the settlement on it. The port rests between the two islands. It has a few little mountains and a large-ish building on it. The Alchemist's island has a few international contracts at its port. Also Alchemist's Island lacks all shops save for one. It sells water bottles and it sells two unique items. Elixer and Snake oil. The Energy Elixer gives you a lot of energy, some food, and some water. The Snake oil removes a lot of energy, but gives a bit of food and water too. One may not see the point of this at first glance, but it's a good way to hurry up your need for sleep if you want to pass time for any reason.

Albacore Town is the most Eastern Island, making it a bit of a pain to get to since my world at least always has a South West prevailing wind. Albacore Town is also a double island with the port in between. The passage is narrow so beware. It has a few shops and buildings, but most revolve around fish and fishing believe it or not. When sailing to Albacore town be careful as there are no other landmarks around if you pass it, and you will most likely have to tack (zig-zag upwind) to get there. If you can't see the central island YOU NEED TO TURN AROUND IMMEDIATELY.

This one is neat, but beware if you sail to it as it is very small. You need to pay extra attention when you sail to the Academy as you can miss it easily. Unless you are close, this island will look like a little building in the middle of nowhere. The Central Island can still be seen but is appears small as I believe it to be the farthest settlement from the central island. I passed this island once and was only saved because i barely noticed it behind my ship while looking backwards. This island only has one barebones shop that sells food and water.

Oh yeah the capitol, the big city. If you sail to the middle of the massive island you will find a port on the inside. Beware of the shallow water markers or you will get beached. This island has a castle and a lot of walls on it. It has all kinds of cool shops that sell everything, (Except Elixer and Snake Oil). It has furniture, grills, fishing, every kind of food, every kind of drink, it has maps and navigational tools, and there's even a shop to the side, you might have to look around a bit, but it sells really expensive paintings. Also this is the island where you can buy the larger boat. Check it out when you can as it will probably inspire you to put in the hours in game and eventually buy it. Finally Gold Rock City is where you will see the bulk of International Contacts up for hire.

You will see these all over the place around settlements. They are there for a reason. If you get too close to these you will get hung up on the ground. This can be a major pain to get out of as you will have to get out and push your boat.

This is a Chip Log, The real ones are a bit complicated, but to use this one simply right click and throw the little "chip" over the side of the boat, it will extend and give you a number. This is how fast you are going. You can fiddle with your sails while this is out and fine tune for optimum speed. Get the Chip log, you'll love it.

The Broom: you pick it up and right click and it will go back and forth. It will make your boat lighter in color. It will get dark again. It's a fun little chore to do when you're underway. You can also scroll to adjust the pitch of the broom to get the walls.

How to fish: Get a fishing rod - Get hooks. Drop fishing rod - Right click fishing hook box - hold hook - look at fishing rod - Attach hook - "now they will bite" - Right click the bobber overboard - wait for rod to go down "fish bite" - Scroll backwards to reel it in - REEL SLOWLY. If you reel too fast the rod will bend too much and you will lose your hook. Reel slowly allowing the rod to straighten up. Get fish all the way up - it will say collect fish, but it will drop when you click so MAKE SURE THE FISH WILL DROP IN THE BOAT.

- You can take multiple contracts, the more rep you gain (which you can check in your log) The more contracts you can take. When you decide on your next destination, take as many contracts as you want "to the SAME destination". Keep an eye on the cargo count though, you don't want to get stuck trying to haul 8 large grain boxes up to the academy or something. This is how you rack up some serious cash locally.

- When you are fiddling with the Helm (Steering Wheel) you probably left click to get off of it, this will leave the wheel "limp". If you right click then you will "lock" the wheels position. This can be very useful if you need to adjust your sails while turning. There's a lot of cool things you can do with this trick, another is to lock a course. (Disclaimer, you should still check often as you will still drift off course)

- If you press C while on your boat you will switch to the ship view.

- Always keep an emergency stock of food and water and or an emergency elixer and then do your best not to touch it.

- Fun real world/sailwind tip, it's unlucky to bring bananas on boats.

- You can attach your starting map to a wall, I attached mine to the back wall for reference. (Although you can check your log for a map)

- If you're lost and unsure, and you see any land then sail to it. More times than not it's the island I was trying to get to, but if not it will help you get your bearing once you recognize the island.

- IMPORTANT - I swear the map isn't 100% accurate but it's close to accurate.

Another word would be basic point of reference, and "triangulation" if I had two points. But as I said in the beginning the Central island is visible from any of the islands. This and a compass means that you can never truly be lost.

Here's an example. I'm standing on Al' Nilem and I'm holding my compass while looking at the central island.
Now if I take note of the exact direction on the compass I can draw a line from my position to the point of reference.
Of course you gotta get technical when you go into the big open ocean, but we're beginners, we do the local trading, for now just a trusty compass and a big island that can be seen from any of the local islands will do with this simple trick.

Another thing that I've found by observation is the North Star, it's a pretty easy find through the course of the first night if you pay attention with your compass. But since you start with a compass, this information may be irrelevant. However, refer to the picture to consistently predict the location of the sun. I don't know about you but with the absence of clocks it is nice to know when to expect the sunrise.

Like I said there's little to no content on this awesome yet complicated game. I hope you enjoy sailing in this magical game as much as I do. And maybe with the help of my little guide here I saved someone the headache of trying to find an answer to a basic question and not being able to find it. I will be updating this guide hopefully as the game progresses. Good Luck and Happy Sailing!