Originally Posted by sombra1230

I think the bearing doesn't control where you end up as much as when you end up. Ben would have have to Michael a bearing that would have him end up back in the "real world" at a time logical to him (not knowing any of this time travel business at the time that he left). The freighter folk, arriving well after Michael left, would need to use a different bearing to return to whatever time their freighter is currently in. If they didn't follow that bearing and returned following a different one, the freighter may not have been there at all.
The dead body followed who knows what bearing. It is possible that the doc dies sometime in the future and floats in on such a bearing that he arrives on the island before he has actually died on the ship. Making what the freighter people say true.
This is the only explanation that could explain Faradays payload, Michaels departure, Sayid & Desmonds return to the freighter, and all the other time inconsistencies. It has to be the bearing that determines what timeline you arrive in or depart from...