If you want to add a little more RP to your patrols, you might consider SH3Gen. Ok so it won't fulfill your needs in regards to getting extra renown (nothing will, except editing), but it does produce mission orders that include rendezvous with ships in neutral ports, harbor raids and the like. It also gives you intelligence on shipping movements and harbor defenses that are configurable so you can have a lot of reliable info or less, more unreliable intelligence.
Anyway, it adds a lot of atmosphere to the game and I think you'd appreciate what it offers, see the main thread for a full rundown of it's features here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=88438