Career: am I missing something?

[monkeymagoo]

Hi

I've been embarking on Career mode for the last few days and to be honest very little is happening despite me travelling vast distances. As an example I have been patrolling Celebes Sea (in the zig zag pattern I saw in a video) and have not encountered a single ship.

If it's just a case of patience then fine, but I was wondering if I was meant to be reacting to the news broadcasts I get occasionally, or sending status reports more often? E.g I got a broadcast saying Japanese forces has invaded Borneo, so I started going around the coast of Borneo but didn't encounter anything.

Lastly, a plane flew overhead and then crashed into the sea. I didn't do anything so did it crash because my crew were shooting it down?

Sorry for the noob questions

-Richard