Thanks! I suggest starting off by building only on the right side (since that gives you a bit more time to prepare for the first bullet) and being sure to keep your connectors open so you can hook around to build a tile, hopefully a spiky raft (can take 3 hits) in front of your helm. With this opening and a little practice, I can win about 50% of the time.
Since we didn't have time to create a tutorial, it does throw you into the deep end (so to speak) right from the start, and I agree that can be frustrating.
Thanks for your feedback!