In the current game you are pretty much toast once your ship is sunk. Any treasure you had is lost. What if there were a mechanic in the game that would allow a marooned sailor to take possession of another ship and sail away with it?
A commandeered vessel could become the new spawn point for the thief and break the respawn ties of the former crew, marrooning them instead. Then the thief could sail off with the contents of the ship and any booty to the nearest port.
I'm sure there are plenty of complicating factors to making it work, but it could lead to some epic tales of revenge on the high seas as a solo player sails off alone in the galleon that wrecked him.
I suggest this with full knowledge that I am a filthy casual who would likely never successfully manage a team wipe or whichever conditions would be required to comandeer a vessel. I just like the idea of there being a carrot there to give a little sliver of hope before becoming shark food.
