WELCOME ABOARD!
Yes, in August everybody is neutral, so you will be docked renown for sinkng any ships.
Things you can do:
1. Start your career in September. You can skip the August start if you like.
2. Use SH3 Commander. It will change the way you look at your career forever. I start on August 1, do a quick 'turnaround', sailing around the harbor for a few minutes, then end the patrol. I then use Commander to flesh out my crew, give them qualifications etc. Then I set Commander's 'Days In Base' function to 18, which means my first real patrol starts on August 19, when 14 u-boats were sent to the North Atlantic to await further orders. A nice relaxing week on station before the war starts. After that patrol I reset Commander's 'Days In Base' to Random.