Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail release date – everything we know Game Labs' early access naval title has Brian in a nautical retro reverie - here's what we know so far “The wind was rising with squalls, so that the ships lay over well to their canvas, and the sea was getting big.” Arrrr. I may not know exactly what that means, but it sure does sound exciting. It’s from 'The Royal Navy, A History', by Captain A. T. Mahan (1898) and describes an 1781 naval action at Cape Henry, Virginia. Said same battle, fought between the British and French navies – is included in Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail, currently in Steam's Early Access. In real-world history, it was the British – among whose sails Captain Mahan observed the bigness of the sea – who won the day. In Ultimate Admiral, there's a bit more flex, as we shall see.