Dont think PortSand is the place, is the SSand on one of the vendors inside a shop.

Weaving as i said before somewhere on these forums, lvl 1-4 is yag neck +wind, then conjunction it with Earth for a cloth, then you can spam hachimakies(two grass cloth + Wind) all the way to lvl 11. AVOID COTTON SKILL UP AT ALL COSTS.

Skilling up is to get a WEAK weapon of the type you want to skill up, with the lowest delay and start whacking at everything that is high def but weak enough to kill, you want to swing as much as possible so get a weak weapon.

Used bamboo and insect paste up to lvl 10, then try comp rod and sabiki rig on bubu for yellow globes, that should take you up to lvl 17.