Tide & current

[-Pv-]

"...What has happened to me, however, is destroying my ship on sandbanks that aren't on the map..."

I'm absolultely certain any water shallow enough to bottom the boat IS visible on the map and not due to sandbars being moved around by tides and currents.
I strongly suggest you use the waypoint plot tool while zoomed in tight on the map (TAB key or click the magifying glass on the map.) The autopilot will keep you out of harm while you are zooming at high time compression. Think of it as giving your navigation officer a plot and counting on him to give the helm all the correct turns at the right time while you concentrate on strategy and managing your crew.

Zoom in to your waypoints to make sure small bits of land you cannot see when zoomed all the way out are not too near your plots. The brighter the background color, the shallower the water. Right click on the magnifyier to zoom back out.

land] color1) color2) color3) color4) color5-deepest blue

Land
White color1 = 0-48 feet
color2 = 48-175
color3 = 175-490
color4 - 490-850
color5 = 850+
-Pv-