I played so much SoT back around 2019/2020! Was such a blast just hanging out on the seas.
I agree with your comment about the water, it really is beautiful.
I know folks have mentioned disliking the pvp aspect and believe me I get it - I was never particularly good at it especially in close encounters. But I will say some of the most genuinely exciting memories I have are of those times when we had a boatload of loot with some pirates hot on our tail and managed to get away with it.
The crew I played with eventually moved on to other things but I still miss it now and then.
Man I thought the well was so dang creepy when I originally played it.