Here is my theory on this, just to throw it out there. I dont think it has been posted yet, but if it has, my apologies.
What if, as some have said, the "man" on the boat isn't a man but a woman? Maybe it is Ben's girlfriend from the flashbacks? Annie? She is going to have to make it back into the story somehow, at least I assume she will. And wouldn't it be just like Lost to throw us all off by saying "man"? Not to mention throwing Charlotte off, in the event that she is once again able to communicate with her boat crew.
Just something that popped into my head...