To get to the sandbar, one must take a boat to a certain spot, then board a smaller boat to land on the sandbar, or take an airship directly to a small Dark Camp located on the sandbar.
The people of Starfire chose to take a boat and then a smaller boat directly to the beach.
Using a Flying Mount is not only expensive, but also because the flight path is uncontrollable. To ride a Flying Mount or an airship, you have to go to that camp.
The Dark Camp on the sandbar is huddled in a small valley in the south of the sandbar, while Li Yao's ideal place for a garrison is in the north. Even for Li Yao, trying to walk back around the areas filled with high-level monsters after going through the camp would be impossible, let alone for a regular player.
Concerned about the danger of docking the small boats, more than a dozen boats had to capsize before nearly three thousand players managed to land on a dilapidated little beach.