I have been reading the new book, and though I have only read a few chapters, I am loving it.
[spoiler]
I think Wolfe is trying to deconstruct sailing ships and pirates the same way he did the ancient world in the Latro books. The main character (male) has already been gang raped twice by other men in the crew.
And though Chris describes himself as a murderer and pirate, there is still something very likable about him. As always, there are strange and unexplained things going on, but I expect that with Wolfe. 
[/spoiler]
But what I put under the spoiler tags is 
I am looking forward to feeling a bit better and reading the rest of the book. 
(We do not see any firsthand in the book - it comes up as a side topic in discussions among the characters, none of whom do that).