In beta, you would usually only see NPC ships sailing into the islands' interiors. It rarely happened to player. Definitely send a bug report on that!
You used to be able to fly (running upwards into the sky) in beta. But we are all running a different client now and can't dock ships in ports anymore. So if you see it again, make sure you report the bug.
Toodles,
Dolnor Numbwit
Eternal Arr-bie