Well my last "new" pirate did crash when I was doing a crew member quest (Pidgley).
We'll see what happens because I just finished proving loyalty and have to go back to Gibbs
Edit - Ok with this 2nd "new" pirate I accepted the Hendry Cutts quest, talked to Scarlett, got my new quest and the game froze. I logged out properly, instead of hitting the X, and am able to get back on. I think with my last one, when the game froze I hit the X to exit the game.