"Up Periscope" Should help to get you into a "YAAAAAAARRRRRRR" frame of mind. :arrgh!:

I just demand a parrot shouting "Ship sighted Cap'n" :arrgh!: :rotfl:

squawk... tanker want a torpedo, tanker want a torpedo... squawk...

hit em again captn, hit em again. squawk...:rotfl:

SH6, Parrots of the Burning South Seas.:lol:

I want a trained parrot that can drop bombs on enemy ships.

Survivor 1: I'm positive, skipper, we were hit by a Japanese bomb.
Survivor 2: Flying by itself, eh? Are you suggesting bombs migrate?
Survivor 1: Not so, skipper - they can be carried.
Survivor 2: A parrot carrying a 100kg bomb?
Survivor 1: It could grip it by the fins.
Survivor 2: It's not a question of where it grips it - it's a simple question of... [and so on]

You know what the worst thing is? That's almost precisely what I had in mind for a Total Conversion: A pirate mod.

It had many of the features you describe - defecting submariners, a hidden base (in my mod it was to be on Greenland), captured supplies instead of renown... I even had a basic, rough storyline involving treachery, global diplomacy, etc.

Maybe someday I'll make it for SH4. As a side note, you know how enemy ships leave behind enemy survivors when sunk? Do you think it's possible to have it leave behind friendly supplies, too (that is, floating crates that can be 'rescued' by you)? This could be the principal way of gaining supplies in the game - salvaging them from enemy merchants.

You would be better off training the seagulls, as they always seem to know where my boat is.