Carribean sea.. worth the journey?

[Aviv]

Hey everyone, I am just getting back into Sh3 GWX after a loong break so I'll probably have more questions coming up in a few days. I'm glad to see this place is still alive! :b

My first question is this; I'm off the coast of Africa (near Dakar) in April 1941 with a IXB. I don't know if I should go to the Canary Islands to refit (to the Corrientes I think) and then head to the Caribbean or forget it go back home to Lorient. I didn't find as many boats as I planned to near Africa so my crew are still looking for blood :b and plus there is a lot of storms there so I thought I could go to the sunny islands.

Is it worth the journey to go to the Caribbean or not? Or would it be better to wait until 1942 when US ships can be sunk? I've never been to that part before so I don't know the good areas or what to expect, so I need the advice of good captains!

Thanks!

[Jimbuna]

Wait until the US enters the war then conduct a 'Tanker War'.

[Tonnage_Ace]

What Jimbuna said, I found a lot of slow moving tankers there in '43

[Madox58]

I've heard of a Ghost Ship near there.
:03:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26RFjOphO_w

[desertstriker]

It can be a lucrative region if you are in the right zones.

[sharkbit]

After the US enters the war, load up on Pina Coladas, some Jimmy Buffet albums for the gramophone, and Hawaiian shirts for the crew and head out there. Lots of tankers plying the waters south of Cuba.

[Jimbuna]

There be ghosts on ghost ships :03:

http://s1.postimg.org/a3x1wprm3/keelhauled.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

[RConch]

There be ghosts on ghost ships :03:

http://s1.postimg.org/a3x1wprm3/keelhauled.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

I have heard of the Ghost ship for years-but have never seen it. I think I have been everywhere, but no sighting.

Where does she hide at?:arrgh!:

[Jimbuna]

http://s10.postimg.org/cuhekw4u1/image.jpg (http://postimage.org/)

[Jimbuna]

[/CENTER]

Geeeeee!!!

Who had that idea?!

That was down to privateer IIRC.

[Admiral Halsey]

http://s10.postimg.org/cuhekw4u1/image.jpg (http://postimage.org/) Something that I noticed from that pic is that even knowing the routes the ship goes it's still a huge area and finding the thing will still take a lot of luck.

[Jimbuna]

Not necessarily so...it is possible to interrogate the layer for more precise co-ordinates and time factor but that would be the ultimate spoiler.

I would often use the SpySat for such purposes when scripting traffic and that narrowed down the twenty four hour window considerably.

A real game spoiler though once utilised outside of testing purposes.

[RConch]

Thanks and no more spoiler.:salute:

[Jimbuna]

Thanks and no more spoiler.:salute:

LOL :)

I guess you haven't come across Mickey Mouse yet then? :O:

[Skink5150]

The Caribbean is totally worth the trip . Lurking near the channel at the North end of Trinidad and Venezuela in '43 is a sure way to pop some tankers .
Just beware of neutrals .

[Kaptlt.Endrass]

When the US comes in, go full blown on those guys. I'll usually be out to sea forever, patrolling the area and using the nearby XIV (is it U-489???) to resupply. I've gotten patrol records of well over 550000 tons on one patrol where I kept refueling and reloading.

And that ghost ship I believe is supposed to be the Flying Dutchman, the real one. It sunk in a storm I believe. Look it up, and that should give some info.

[Admiral Halsey]

LOL :)

I guess you haven't come across Mickey Mouse yet then? :O:

Is that a reference to that weird SH4 video on YouTube?

[Jimbuna]

Is that a reference to that weird SH4 video on YouTube?

Nope...a reference to one of the GWX easter eggs.

[Rammstein0991]

SE Caribbean iirc is definitely a good place to find tankers.

[Sailor Steve]

When the US comes in, go full blown on those guys. I'll usually be out to sea forever, patrolling the area and using the nearby XIV (is it U-489???) to resupply. I've gotten patrol records of well over 550000 tons on one patrol where I kept refueling and reloading...
That's one of the places where the game really falls down. In reality a milch kuh was there to help you survive. They carried enough torpedoes and fuel to maybe extend your trip by a week or two, and to help get you home. They weren't a floating warehouse with infinite supplies. Of course the other failure is how easy the game makes it to get those super patrols that real kaleuns could only dream about.

Of course after a quarter century of playing sub sims I guess I'm a little jaded...

[Kaptlt.Endrass]

I know. The first few times I did it, I thought it was fun, but now, not so much. The only time I do do it is when I've had a REALLY bad (8-10 patrol) streak and I need to get my crew skills up. So far, that has happened two times.

#1: Career Start-1939: Date of newest patrol was 3rd June, 1943. Total tonnage from all accumulated patrols beforehand: 250349 tons, crew skills, 6 out of 39 had them. After: 673290 tons, 15 out of 39 crew members had skills, and I finally could upgrade my boat.

#2: Career Start-1940: (This one was terrible. If I didn't have GWX, I would have ended the career) Newest patrol start: Christmas 1942. Total tonnage, 84291 tons (TOO MANY DUDS). After: 480384 tons.


I know that most U-boat captains didn't have good careers, some ending before they had sunk anything even, but these were frustrating for me that I couldn't help it.

[Sailor Steve]

I reached a point long ago where for me the realism is more important than the game itself. I've had more than one completely empty patrol, and I think my highest single patrol score so far has been in the realm of 20,000 tons. Playing the way I do a career total of 100,000 might be considered extremely good.

[Kaptlt.Endrass]

Understood. The reason I still do it (even if it is rare) is that I'm trying to go from early war to the end, or at least to get the Type XXI. Once I do that, I've sworn to stop the mega-patrols.