Hey everyone,
I split your posts off from the
previous thread about this world event not completing correctly as the issue you are all describing is slightly different - that the NPC and/or boat aren't present or in the correct place in the first place. The aforementioned issue has been under investigation for a while, however I wasn't able to find any existing investigations relating to the NPC and/or boat being entirely missing from the start, and as such I'll be happy to look further into this with you all and get this issue investigated as well.
First of all, thank you for the images you have provided so far
@sicplagu3. These will be helpful to the team to understand the issue better and also how the NPC is not in the correct place for the world event to begin properly. World events should normally reset as you mentioned when you travel far enough away for a long enough period, however if this has not worked in your case, we'll require a short video demonstrating this as well as a
save file from you. I'm happy to open a
support case on your account for you to submit the information needed - just let me know if you're able to provide it all.

I also added both issues with this world event to our
megathread list for everyone's visibility, in case there are any other players affected.
@Vryolaka Just to clarify, had you already attempted to complete the quest previously and now the man and boat are gone? Or were they never there to begin with? Which platform do you play on please?
@Kaje1980 Hey! Could you please confirm the platform you are playing on? Has the issue persisted since the TU 1.1.1 patch on January 14th? Finally, could you provide a short video showing that the priests are dead and the man / boat are nowhere to be found? Thank you!