All Hands on Deck: A Modern-Day High Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the World

by Will Sofrin

A maritime adventure memoir that follows a crew of misfits hired by Hollywood to sail an 18th-century warship 5,000 miles for the making of a beloved blockbuster film,
 
“An unbelievable ride . . . Will Sofrin has lived the real experiences and survived to tell the tale.”—Dan Shotz, Emmy Award-winning producer of Black Sails
 
In the late 1990s, Patrick O’Brian’s multimillion-copy-selling historical novel series—the Aubrey–Maturin series, which was set during the Napoleonic Wars—seemed destined for film. With Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin, the production only needed a ship that could stand in for Lucky Jack’s HMS Surprise, with historical accuracy paramount. The filmmakers found the Rose, a replica of an 18th-century ship that would work perfectly. Only there was one the Rose was in Newport, Rhode Island, not in Southern California, where they would be filming. Enter a ragtag crew of thirty oddballs who stepped up for the task, including Will Sofrin, at the time a 21-year-old wooden boat builder and yacht racer, who joined as the ship’s carpenter.
 
All Hands on Deck is Sofrin’s memoir of the epic adventure delivering the Rose to Hollywood. It’s a story of reinvention, of hard work on the high seas, of love, and of survival. The Rose was an example of the most cutting-edge technology of her era, but in the 21st century, barely anyone had experience sailing it. The crew effectively went back in time, brought to life the old ways of a forgotten world, and barely lived to tell the tale. Just a few days in, a terrifying hurricane-strength storm nearly sank the Rose, and later, a rogue wave caused a nearly fatal dismasting. And the ups and downs weren’t limited to the waves—with the crew split into factions, making peace between warring camps became necessary, too, as did avoiding pirates and braving the temptations of shore leave. All Hands on Deck is a gripping story of an unforgettable journey and a must-read for fans who adore O’Brian’s novels and the dramatic film adaptation of the Academy Award-nominated Master and Commander.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Adventure, Travel, Audiobook, Nautical, Biography

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 18, 2023

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A memoirish account of sailing an 18th century ship to Hollywood for use in the film Master and Commander.

If you just really like Memoirs or are a huge Master and Commander fan, you’ll likely enjoy this more than I did. I was hoping for something more focused on the history of the ship and of sailing, and while that content is present throughout the book, the focus is more on the author’s personal experiences.

There is a lot of day-to-day, anecdotal storytelling, and these stories are no doubt meaningful and hilarious to the people involved, but to an objective reader, they feel a bit self-indulgent and a bit “guess you had to be there.” Please tell me more about the daily meals of a sailor on a ship like this during its time and less about that night you made port and got drunk and went for Chinese food. Sigh.

Anyway, the group crewing the ship for this voyage is likable enough but not especially interesting. Calling it a “crew of misfits” is a bit of a stretch and implies a more amusing cast of characters and series of events than what actually happens.

Regardless, there’s certainly some good historical information and some interesting content about ships here, but not enough to balance out the dull, over personal stuff that dominates the story.

*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Meagan | The Chapter House · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited about this read, as I've seen _Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World_ boatloads (no pun intended :D) of times.

It shed a ton of light on just what went into making HMS _Rose_ sea- and movie-worthy, and I have nothing but respect for all those involved!

For me, the tale got bogged down at times in the details (though others that enjoy those nuances--especially fans of the O'Brian books--will no doubt enjoy it more); a good deal of language and some colorful elements proved over the top for me. But, I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this element of an incredibly well done movie (and ship).

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun adventure tale, especially for readers that are into boats and sailing. I also enjoyed the movie aspect to the book. Good audiobook too. Recommended.

[Darryl Updegrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great read. Highly recommended, especially if you enjoy the Patrick O'Brian novels.

[Lindsay Gallagher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had many good pieces. The sections describing the storm and other sailing adventures were fun and easy-to-read. Unfortunately, most of this book contains personal stories that I have no interest in. It reads almost like a polished diary instead of a non-fiction book. It sometimes felt as if this book were an inside story between the author and his friends.

The author also seems to gloss over his more unsavory actions, such as being very vague about the start of a fist fight with the captain and why his crewmates began picking on him. There was also an insinuation that his crewmates were jealous of his girlfriend, which seems untrue.

I also felt a lot of this book was filler, especially the side-characters that were introduced rapidly and then barely mentioned again. I understand this is a true story, but keeping a smaller cast of people that the story follows or developing each character for longer would have made the story stronger. The book also didn't begin telling the sailing adventure until around the 25 percent mark, and I feel that the long introduction could have been shortened significantly.

However, on the good side, I learned a lot about modern "tall ships" and how they are run, along with the lifestyle of a seaman. The anachronism of a sailing ship going through the modern world was also intriguing.

[Steven Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is background for the Aubrey/Maturin novels and especially the movie version, “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,” released in 2003. I decided to read this book after seeing it mentioned on the Aubrey/Maturin Facebook page.

Creating a movie set in the 19th century, especially one that takes place on warships of the time, is a challenging feat unless you have an actual ship that’s at least passably authentic for the period. (It’s possible to do a lot with models and stage sets, plus today’s computer graphics, but scenes shot on board or from a chase boat will always be more authentic). The makers of the movie became aware at an early stage in their preparation that a replica of a British frigate of about the right period, the “HMS” Rose, already was in existence. (HMS must be in quotes because, without quotes, it means a commissioned Royal Navy warship). The original HMS Rose that the replica represents was active during the American Revolution and was therefore a few years earlier than the Surprise, the ship featured in most of the O’Brian novels. But it was about the right size and had many of the same features. No question it was a good candidate to play HMS Surprise in the film.

The replica Rose had been built in 1970 in Nova Scotia. The designer, Philip Bolger, was provided with copies of the original Admiralty plans. He made a number of changes both above and below the waterline because she was intended to be used as a restaurant, although also equipped for sailing, so she’s not an exact replica. However, she’s a wooden ship built plank-on-frame like the original, and therefore, by the time the film was made, she was already old for a wooden ship. She was based in Newport, Rhode Island, for most of her life. The filmmakers had deep enough pockets to refit her for the voyage to San Diego on her own power, as well as to modify her to represent HMS Surprise more exactly. Therefore, I expected Mr. Sofrin’s book to be a sea story that would start in medias res with the dock lines being cast off and the ship motoring away from the harbor.

Well, that’s not what the book is like. Its action starts well before the ship is ready for sea, explaining how the author was recruited as one of the seamen (assistant to the ship’s carpenter), introducing us to the rest of the crew of about 30 people of both sexes, and even discussing the internal politics that pitted the smaller, original crew – apparently the ship was capable of harbor day sails at least even though she was in rather poor condition – against the new recruits. The entire crew seems to have been paid rather than partly volunteers as is common in “tall ships”. While the course of the account does justify this relatively pedestrian start in that the crew comes together as a team in spite of their disparate origins, a common theme of all maritime literature that’s still worth revisiting, it means the first few chapters resemble a digression from the plot.

As the ship puts to sea, we learn that the studio hasn’t completed the refit/conversion process, and the ship has a number of material weaknesses. Why the renovation couldn’t have happened in Newport, where there is certainly plenty of boat maintenance experience, I did wonder more than once. The delivery is a very long voyage, thousands of open ocean miles, and the sea certainly found out most of the weaknesses in the ship’s construction and maintenance. That's not surprising. Leaving Newport in late fall, naturally they hit bad weather and the ship suffered damage. The hull leaked, elements of the rigging let go, and the equipment seemed oddly deficient in a number of ways to keep the 30 people comfortable for a voyage that would evidently take more than two months. Having passed into the tropics, it turned out the ship wasn’t air conditioned or even equipped for fresh air ventilation. Why the crew didn’t rig a wind sail to send fresh air below isn’t explained – that’s a very simple device commonly used in the period, and mentioned by Mr. O’Brian in the novels. The passage across the Gulf of Mexico was much more grueling than it had to be. It has been known for a substantial time that Mr. Bolger hadn’t quite gotten the balance under sail correct, and as a result, the ship has always had to carry less sail on the mizzen to prevent her from “rounding up” – I don’t think “weather helm,” the modern term, is correct for the Napoleonic period. The captain must have already known about that and could possibly have made suggestions for correcting it before setting out. In the book, the author describes a sail combination that limits sail area on the mizzen but doesn’t explain why that was necessary. I would also have liked to hear about the problems of handling a sail plan designed to be worked by 200 men with 30. Did they install winches? The author is silent on these matters. But, those are nits. The ship arrived safely.

So, with the exception that some of the difficulties of the voyage seemed to be self-inflicted, the sea story/adventure part of the account is as entertaining as I expected. The book was published around 2020, when the passage was almost 20 years in the past. The crew members mostly were still in contact with each other; the voyage had obviously had the kind of effect on them as his voyage round the Horn had on Richard Henry Dana in the 19th century. I would have liked to see how the ship was prepared for her starring role in the movie, but the account stops with the ship’s arrival in San Diego, with a brief summary of the crew members’ careers after that.

So, I see it as a worthwhile read that leaves some questions unanswered.

[Cindy Vallar · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1969, two events occur that get little media coverage. Shipwrights in Nova Scotia build a replica of a British Royal Navy frigate from the eighteenth century. A novel by Patrick O’Brian, an author not widely known, is published. The ship will be christened Rose; the book, the first in a nautical series, is entitled Master & Commander.

Fast forward to the fall of 2001. A young man returns from Europe after 9/11 uncertain what he will do next. In France, he could afford to spend $300 on champagne; now, he’s in Newport, Rhode Island, working on a tall ship for minimal pay. It’s not the work he wants to do, but his choices are limited. The vessel is a full-rigged ship with a length of 179 feet and 30.5 feet at her widest point amidships. The tallest of her three masts rises 130 feet above the water. Unlike the day she was launched, she is shabby and of questionable seaworthiness. Her name is Rose, and he is Will Sofrin. By the time she’s ready to set sail, he joins the crew as a deckhand and ship’s carpenter. He is familiar with sailing, but has never sailed aboard a tall ship before. The remaining crew consists of men and women, some experienced hands and others with little to none. Her captain is Richard Bailey, “a legend in the tall ship community” and the man who saved the frigate from the scrapyard. (23)

During the next three months – a timeframe that doesn’t allow much wiggle room – he and the others must make the frigate ready for a voyage that will take her from the Atlantic Ocean, across the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, into the Pacific Ocean, and north to California. Rose has been purchased to be a prop in a new movie by Twentieth Century Fox. She will become HMS Surprise for Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Along the way, they battle rough seas, gale-force winds, boredom, and low morale. They live in less-than-desirable conditions, and encounter problems that can spell disaster for the ship and themselves.

Sofrin includes technical drawings, tables, and black-and-white photographs to help us better understand the ship and to get to know her crew. Measurements are provided in feet and meters. When using nautical language, he explains these terms in everyday terms to which we can relate. One example is when they find themselves encountering sustained winds of sixty knots and waves twenty to thirty feet high: “It felt like being in a pinball machine, bouncing from one hard surface to the next.” (106)

From start to finish, All Hands on Deck takes us on a stunning and personal journey. Contrary to our romantic notions of sailing aboard a wooden ship, Sofrin offers a frank and honest account of his experiences and his shipmates, as well as tying up loose ends once the ship is delivered. At the same time, he compares his life aboard Rose with what it was like for Royal Navy seamen in the late eighteenth century. He also recounts Patrick O’Brian’s story and how he created his characters, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin. In small, but memorable, ways, we experience what Sofrin experiences and it is a voyage we are unlikely to forget.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Sofrin.html)

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating behind the scenes look at a key element of Master and Commander, one of my favorite films

All Hands on Deck: A Modern-Day High Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the World by Will Sofrin is part behind the scenes book/part modern age of sail memoir.

In making the film Master and Commander, the film company purchased the Rose, a replica sailing vessel, to use as the set for filming. Close in dimensions to a sixth rate age of sail vessel and licensed training vessel (along with a few modern elements that could be concealed during filming), it still has to be transported to its filming location…

Enter the narrator, a mechanic recruited as crew to man and maintain the ship along with nearly 30 others…tasked with making a 3 month sailing voyage.

The majority of this book covers that story…or the trip, the crew comraderie, their travails and successes, along with scattered anecdotes comparing this crew to what would have been experienced during the time period the movie was set.

The rest (about a fifth) covers Master and Commander. While I would have liked more attention paid to the movie and its development, what we get is still pretty good as it follows the author and director’s stories, the development of the Jack Aubrey series, its global success, and some set events related to the crew sailing the vessel to its destination.

A fun personal behind the scenes story that you don’t often see. It helps you respect all the pre planning that many big Hollywood movies require…though it rarely gets probably heralded…

[Andy Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Particularly as a fan of Patrick O’Brian’s splendid Aubrey-Maturin series, I really enjoyed this book. It is one of the only modern, first-hand accounts of what it must of been like to live and work on an 18th century British naval frigate (tall ship). Even though the Rose had its share of modern conveniences, like engines, plumbing, and electricity, the ship drew most of its propulsion from its sails—sails that were controlled by a crew of 30–not the 200 on the real thing.

The book took us through the months long voyage of the Rose from Connecticut through the Panama Canal to San Diego where it was refitted to be the HMS Surprise in the movie Master and Commander. The voyage took place in the winter and the ship sailed through a North Atlantic hurricane and subsequently lost a mast. The book brought to life, life and work—unbelievably hard work—aboard the vessel and really cramped living conditions—berths stacked three high with something like 18” of vertical clearance. The pay for the trip was an appalling $195/week and I think the author had maybe 2 days off in 90 days while working 12-16 hour days. I can’t imagine how much worse it was for British seaman with nearly 10 times the people on the same sized ship and no modern conveniences. If there was a hell on earth that was it.

The book also did a nice job weaving in a biography of Patrick O’Brian and details from his books.

If you are a fan of Aubrey-Maturin or tall ships, you’ll love this book.

[Tracy Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A personal account of the author’s experience in sailing a ship called Rose more than 6,000 miles from Newport, Rhode Island to San Diego, California in 2002. Rose was a replica of an eighteenth-century British Warship called HMS Rose. She was 179 feet long with the top of her tallest mast being 130 feet above the water, as tall as a 13-story building. They departed with a crew of 30, who were largely strangers with varying skill sets, on a ship of questionable seaworthiness. Their objective was to deliver the boat for the filming of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. It was a journey that would test their collective abilities to problem-solve, under pressure.

I was pleased to join the ship vicariously, via this memoir, which was pulled from the diary of the author together with contributions from crew members. I wanted to learn about the sailing experience, the day-to-day life on a huge vessel, that which was far more difficult than I had imagined. I appreciated the comparisons of life on this journey to those of seaman in the 18th century as described by the writer Patrick O’Brian.

The first half of the book was incredibly interesting and well-written. Towards the end, the book became a little thready. Still I enjoyed the read and would recommend it to all interested in knowing what it’s like to work on a tall ship.

[Randall Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was fairly interesting but it didn't quite live up to its title. The book is about a thrown-together crew of 30 people who sail a 3-masted square-rigged tall ship from Newport, Rhode Island to San Diego, California, for the ship to be used in the making of the movie Master and Commander, which was based on Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series of books. For those of you who may not be fans, that book series is considered to be some of the greatest historical fiction ever written. I've read a few of the books, and they are quite good, although they deal with a very narrow world - life on a British Navy vessel in the early 1800s. The crew of this 1970s replica of a tall ship do experience a number of adventures and misadventures on their voyage, and the insight into what it takes to fit-up, maintain, and sail a tall ship is pretty interesting. I read the book mainly because of my interest in the Aubrey-Maturin series, and nautical history in general. If you don't have an interest in either of those, this book is fairly heavy on nautical names (like the names of all the sails on a square-rigged ship), and with the writing being more workman-like than inspiring, then this book may not be for you.

[Dan Dundon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve occasionally had a dream of crewing on a tall ship and sailing the seven seas. After reading Will Sofrin’s book “All Hands on Deck,” I doubt I will ever have that dream again.
The actual experience Sofrin had while being a member of the crew of the “Rose” amounted to lots of mind-numbing hard work, occasional danger, and frequently revolting living conditions.
The most interesting parts of the book were primarily the history he provided of novelist Patrick O’Brian and the efforts to make “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” into a movie. Sofrin was one of 30 sailors on the “Rose” who accepted jobs to sail the badly neglected ship from the East Coast to California so it could be transformed into a Royal Navy frigate for the movie.
Outside of a horrific storm and the “demasting” of the ship, the trip went pretty much as planned which may leave some readers disappointed with the lack of action. Sofrin makes up for that with considerable attention to explaining the basics of sailing such a ship and giving readers many charts depicting the various parts of this historic sailing vessel.
All of this extra information makes it very educational if not exactly always a page turner.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love sea adventures and All Hands on Deck had the added bonus of being a true story. Will Sofrin was only 21 years old when he was approached about helping sail the Rose, a replica of an 18th century ship, from Newport, Rhode Island to southern California. The ship had been purchased by the film company producing Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander. Will was at loose ends and this adventure suited him perfectly. He had experience working on ships and was hired as a carpenter. The ship suffers damage several times and I felt sure everyone would not survive the voyage. They encountered hurricane-strength winds, rogue waves and waterspouts. Will learns a lot about wooden ships and even more about working with an unusual assortment of people. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the overwhelming amount of detail about the ship and sailing. Otherwise, this was a fun adventure story.

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, this was a missed opportunity. If reading for lore about the Suprise, what's in this book is basic and feels tacked on--like the editor said "You need to add some stuff from the Aubrey–Maturin series if you want this to sell." If reading for modern high-seas adventure in a square-rigged ship, there's maybe a chapter. Overall, a disappointingly drab story about a crew who didn't know each other very well coming together briefly for a very mild time. Oh, and it just happens to be set on a square-rigged ship that just happens to be the Rose.

There's a podcast interview (from "The Lubber's Hole") with the author and the ship's captain that is way better than anything in the book. Listen to that instead.

[Stanley B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A memoir similar to a coming of age. The author Mr. Sofrin joined about thirty others to sail a replica of an eighteenth century British warship from Newport, Rhode Island to San Diego, California. The goal was to sail the ship there in time for the making of a movie. Most of the crew were brought together just before sailing. It became an adventurous trip of weather, personalities, and keeping the ship from sinking. Mr. Sofrin's book is also dispersed with history, facts about sailing, drawings of the ship, and photographs of the crew during this experience. This is a good book for anyone who enjoys sailing.

[Sean Mcgreevey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essential story of this book was very interesting and captivating. There were moments that were thrilling and moments that were emotionally evocative. My only problem with the book was that there were frequent bird walks into some details about the author of Master And Commander, or the origins of the Rose, or some other odd detail that did not seem pertinent to the story as a whole. Also, I learned way too much arcane nautical vocabulary. Having said all that, I will be sharing a copy of the book with my stepdad who is a former Navy officer, and who I think would find the book very interesting.

[Amy Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't think it was very interesting, and I can't figure out why. Maybe it was like a biography of a frat boy who talked about things that were interesting to him (who he hooked up with, partying at port, etc.) rather than much of the ship action. A whole lot of reference to Master and Commander series. Since I've never read them, it was not particularly interesting to read a lot of references to these books. Just not that insightful, which is fine, but in the absence of that, I would have hoped for a lot more details about ship life and ship duties.

[Stan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up. Fun memoir and travel book, definitely for the POB completist. Like all travel books, it's the journey, not the destination, friends we made along the way blah blah, and also a fascinating look into exactly how grueling a sailor's life in the age-of-sail was; it's much more "real" to read about a modern day crew overtaken by storm in the 'Graveyard of the Atlantic', barely hanging on through 60-knot winds, with half the seasoned tall-ship sailors are convinced they're gonna sink.

[Charles Low · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply fascinating material.
It's a little jumpy, in that he will discuss the structure of the ship, the working of the ship, the food, and the camaraderie or lack thereof (the love-stories), from paragraph to paragraph, and sometimes tells the same story two or three times, chapters apart, but ... I couldn't put it down.
And either the writing got better as the book progresses, or I just got hooked.

[David Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I would have given it 5 stars if there had been less swearing. I had no idea behind the movie Master and Commander but I learned a ton about the author, the series of books and most importantly the boat that became the "Surprise" I LOVE the movie Master and Commander and now that I have read this book I love it even more.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the storytelling and connection to the Aubrey/Maturin series, and I've gone to see the ship in San Diego so it was cool to read about the sometimes harrowing voyage to CA. However, at times the writing itself leaves something to be desired. That said it was an easy and enjoyable read that I'd recommend it to fans of sailing and Master and Commander.

[LillyBooks]

DNF page 26

I picked up this book because I really like the movie Master and Commander. But this memoir is really about the mechanics, engineering, and science of how a sailing ship is built, maintained, and functions. It is written by a shipwright, so that makes sense, but it just wasn’t for me.

[Jami Rankin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book and obvious that Will was good at learning "the rigging". He came on as a first class "sailor" of YACHTS...and left a sailor (with all due respect) of tall ships. What a great opportunity. As a woman sailor of sailboats on my lovely bay in Pensacola and I am glad I was not on that Tall Ship. But he told the story well without embellishment. And it was a good read.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read! What an amazing adventure! It appears I need to give Patrick O’Brian another look. I loved the movie Master and Commander so I’m sure I would love the books as well. After my first trip to Maine this summer and getting to sail on a tall ship I have definitely caught the sailing bug and this book has helped solidify my desire to sail. Highly recommended!

[Maryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting if you are into sailing or tall ships. I read it in preparation for a multimedia presentation by the author, Will Sofrin, at our local yacht club. Can’t wait to see his video footage!

[Andy Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy and entertaining ppl to listen to. I loved hearing about all the ins and outs of what it’s like to be a part of a ship like that. Pretty amazing. Now of course I need to go watch the movie, “Master and Commander.”

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure story, of particular interest to a diehard O'Brien fan like me. The details of Sofrin and the crew's personal lives were not what I signed up for, but didn't detract too much from the enjoyment of a good sea story with ties to the HMS Surprise...

[Eileen McCauley · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to sail a three masted British naval ship, this is the book for you. It is very much a modern memoir so if your interest is history, you won't find it here.

[David Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fascinating Adventure

I really enjoyed this book, which gives the reader a first hand, up close, view of what life is really like working night and day as a crew member aboard a tall ship. This is an Excellent Book in all respects!

[untitled lullaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. The guy is pretty unbearable even though when he is being unbearable it’s the most interesting bit. I liked the bits about the creation of the movie master and commander which is one of the best movies.