[Bridger]

Hi there,
In answer to your first question, it depends how you wanna play it
Some folk like to patrol their assigned grid for 24 hours then shoot off to known convoy routes and busy areas etc and get 100,000 ton patrols, however this isnt realistic as real u-boats would patrol their area until ordered elsewhere or until fuel low etc, most books on the subject always refer to some patrols as weeks and weeks of nothing, and it wasnt unusual for even the best aces to come back with no pennants, but unfortunately the sim wont give you new orders, so like i say if you wanna realistic feel then stay in your grid and experience the real boredom and frustration of a patrol, or go off and hit the known areas and double kretschmers whole wartime tonnage in one patrol!