Need Help Newbie getting his arse paddled..

Ahoy! (Dosnt that actually mean "Ahead"? And not a form of greeting?)
So since CoAS came out on Gog.com, and i had an old CD copy, i decided to take the digital route and got it on gog.
I never "really" played that cd copy..
Turns out, that game is.. Freakin' brutal. As soon as i start in town, i dont know what to do. I go to the tavern and get some crew. Then i'm almost broke already. On my first try i also got robbed of the little pocket change i had left.
So i'm like, "its an open world, but i have no direction.... What the f*ck do i do?!?". I tried to sail out and, i dunno, explore or something. I noticed my ship was already damaged. Uh, ok..
Then i head out at sea and immediatly get boarded by 2 pirate schooners. I dont even have time to shoot a volley or two in the water (i have no idea how to aim) that i get boarded. Within 10 seconds, even though i hired as much crew as i could afford without having shite morale, i'm alone against 50 dudes. Off course i dont stand a bloody chance.
I immediatly died and got booted to the main menu.

How in bloody santa's balls are you supposed to start out in this brutal arse-kicking game?
Thanks, and hopefully i'll see ya'll in a tavern somewhere.

Start on the easiest difficulty. Complete the tutorial. Don't buy anything you don't have to.

Get a mission from the store to haul cargo somewhere. It won't pay much, but it's something.

The governor might want you to catch a spy in town. Doesn't pay a lot, but is easy and relatively interesting. Avoid the dungeons until you gt more experience, but head out into the jungle and find guys wanting to fight... and loot the bodies. Hire a fighter in the tavern to help, they're cheap enough.

Good luck.

Hook

Pirates Ahoy has everything you need to know about this game right in front of your nose:

Guide - CoAS Walkthrough guide | PiratesAhoy!