I've seen a lot of discussion about how deadly Bonewrack Isle can be. I think the "time limit" to return to the Man's Promise pushes a lot of parties to take it on too quickly.
If you think about the situation, the ship's water supply has been lost and the party sent to get water, the Man's P isn't going to go anywhere until one of the following:
1) the party returns with the water (the party may be in for punishment for taking too long)
2) another group has been dispatched to return with the water and has done so
3) another group has been dispatched to shift/punish the party
4) there's a rain storm with enough rain (funneled with sail cloth?) to fill the ship's barrels.
If the party doesn't figure this out on their own (ours did) give them a profession sailor check or something if they are worrying over it or heading into encounters with too little rest/prep.
I had Plugg tell the PCs that he had enough water so long as the PCs weren't sailing with him and neither were the captured prisoners. He sent them away and told them to return with water (before he sailed away) or not at all. It was up to them whether to rescue the prisoners.
Your way is much nicer...
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Just throwing this out there for other interested parties - I've never heard of a single scenario that didn't play out better with the crew initiating a mutiny before Bonewrack and then getting swept into the reefs with an undermanned crew.
And again, my highest recommendation is to make Aron Ivey still alive, the sole surviving member of the Infernus and ship's carpenter to boot. He can fill the PC's in on the Infernus' backstory, show them the wreck, warn them of the ghouls, lead them to the grindylows and help them effect repairs on their ship all in the hopes of finally getting off of the island. Paid huge dividends in our campaign.
Failing that, Arron can still do all of those things as a ghast. Since he can't get out of the collar, he'll likely be willing to make pretty much any deal. The PCs then have the question of whether to trust him, but whether that's a bad thing or not varies according to play group.
yeah, I prefer Ivey as a ghast. Seems way more fun and a 'what happened' story.
Bonewrack is coming up for my group and I am considering having his journal left behind for some back story.