Shipping Goods as a Pirate in PotBS

So I've been starting to think more and more about Pirates of the Burning Sea, as natural since the game launches in less than two months. I'm surprised I haven't been obsessing before. Thank Jeebus I was able to keep my mind off of it this long.

Anyway, I'm thinking that I'll be a Pirate come launch. I know everyone and their mother will be rolling them, but I can't help it. They fit me, a highly liberal vegan, far more than working for the stuffy Nations. So now that I've decided on my creed, I've been thinking about how I'm going to accomplish certain goals.

One of said goals is becoming wealthy as a Pirate through the economy. That's going to be easier said than done, I'm betting. We're going to be the universally hated denizens of the Sea. Couple this with the fact that the best selling chances will be in more-often-than-not contended ports, and I've got to factor in the risk with my potential reward.

Say I find out through the grapevine that saltpeter is going for oodles down in in Key West. But, it just so happens that Key West is under heavy combat already, as the 4 nations vie for domination of the port. Do I take all of my stock and make the gauntlet run to try and come out on top, or do I take only a wee small portion and make runs back and forth until I have a lot on the market there?

What's more, do I take a heavy fighting ship I captured from a British dog, or do I take some cheap, small, and fast sloop I got off of the deed seller in one of the starter ports? Because if I lose it, at least I'm not losing much.

I'm inclined to think that taking the crap-ship with a smaller load of goods would be my safest bet. If I'm running solo and I have to dive through the hell that's going on around Key West, it's highly likely that I'll be sunk by a part of 2 or more, regardless of my ship (unless I've somehow managed to snag a 100-Gun ship of the line and even that's no guarantee to victory due to their less than wonderful agility). So if I take a small speedy ship, pack in it just a bit of my stored saltpeter, and make a mad dash for Key West, at least I'm not going to be risking anything of any real value. The downside is that it'll take me longer to shovel my goods to the marketplace. I'll need to have time on my side in real life if I go that route.

Now, if I have some fellow piratical folks at my side helping me make this voyage, then that changes everything. Oh, the beauty of the many choices available in PotBS. Very much looking forward to all the fighting, drinking, and whatnot. Very much, indeed.