When you start a career from Königsberg in 7th Flotilla on the 1st of August '39, you must be careful to avoid any and all ships in Pillau and Königsberg for 24 hours after you sink the assigned target ships. The target ships are "neutral" (the war hasn't started yet), so every navy, including your own, considers you a "pirate" and will attack you on sight. Mill around smartly in the Bay for 24 hours and return to port after things have "cooled off" and you won't face a court martial or firing squad!
The information "yasti" provided is correct. Wreford-Brown's "combi-Modv7" for SH3 CDR will restore the renown you want and provide numerous other nice-to-have features as well.
When you end a Patrol, hand out the awards to your crew and exit the game...ignore the dates on the calendar in the office and DO NOT make any equipment upgrades. Then, before starting the next Patrol, use SH3 CDR to set the number of days you want to remain in port and the grid square you want to patrol. When you click the "Launch SH3" check-mark, those changes will be applied. Then you can apply equipment upgrades. BUT...equipment upgrades you apply may add additional days in port and if you had any hull damage during the previous patrol, that too will add days in port to make repairs. It takes a little "experimenting" (take notes) to find out how many days are added for upgrades and other changes.
It doesn't appear that you have any bugs or the game is "unstable"; it just takes some practice and getting use to the mechanics of how the thing works. Good luck, good hunting, sink 'em all!
