Their ship could not steer around such objects should they encounter them.
Now they seem like part of the weather, as the ship can mostly steer itself.
Already the ship was steering wild, yawing off her course.
It seemed something essential had broken and our little ship could no longer steer itself.
No, the two ships were steering more to the north-west: that much was clear from the line of their masts.
"I suppose he thinks the ship knows the way, and steers herself."
Whenever the player is hit, their ship will steer wildly out of control.
By the time his shipmates got him under control, the ship could no longer steer and had no idea where she was.
It was much worse when ships steered clear of the fighting altogether.
This would force ships to steer away from areas that are particularly vulnerable in case of oil spills or other accidents.