Halve Maen
Set: Pirates of the Age of Sail
Release: Dutch Golden Age (DGA) (May 2026 Mega Pack)
Collector’s Number: 074
Nationality: Dutch
Point Cost: 10
Masts: 3
Cargo: 4
Base Move: S+L
Cannons: 4S-4L-4S
Ability: Once per turn, if this ship is within S of a wild island, you can mark it as explored without docking at it. The island becomes unexplored in regards to all other players.
Link: Henry Hudson
Flavor text: Tasked by the Dutch East India Company with a covert mission to find a northern passage to Asia, Henry Hudson captains this ship to new waterways.
This was originally an existing custom I made some years ago as a 2 masted square rigged ship – long before I even considered making my own ship types. However, given how similar her “jacht” design is to a carrack, this was a great opportunity to use the new carrack design in this Dutch release. The faction flag is intentionally orange on top rather than red, because I saw that they used the “Prince’s Flag” around the time she made her main voyage (1609).
I’m originally from New York State and I’ve seen the Hudson River, so this one was a little bit like a homecoming in certain ways. Henry Hudson is not in the release but might be made in the future. Pretty crazy how much bears his name beyond just the river: Hudson Bay, Hudson’s Bay Company (the oldest corporation in North America and just liquidated in 2025), etc. Since she was an exploratory vessel rather than one of the big Portuguese carracks meant for maximum cargo (and technically of a different design historically), I gave her a fast base move along with the S-Explorer ability.
One of the best things about making this one is that a replica exists, with tons of modern pictures to use for reference. From that I was able to recreate the various hull details and especially the color scheme, which is quite unique compared to most other ships in PCSG. I think she’ll make a fine historical addition to the Dutch quest for riches in the game!
