All Hands on Deck

A Modern-Day High Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the World

De: Will Sofrin

Narrado por: Jonathan Todd Ross

A maritime adventure memoir that follows a crew of misfits hired to sail an eighteenth-century warship six thousand miles to Hollywood

In the late 1990s, Patrick O’Brian’s beloved, massively bestselling historical novel series was destined for film. With director Peter Weir and stars Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany signed on for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, there was only one problem: The Rose, the replica eighteenth-century warship that filmmakers bought for the production, was in Newport, Rhode Island, two oceans and thousands of miles away from Hollywood.

Enter a ragtag crew of thirty oddballs and tall-ship fanatics, including author Will Sofrin, at the time a twenty-one-year-old wooden-boat builder and yacht racer looking for some direction in his life. Together, the crew embarked on an epic adventure, racing a ticking clock and fighting against Mother Nature, and occasionally each other, to deliver the Rose, hopefully in one piece.

All Hands on Deck is Sofrin’s account of this unforgettable voyage. It’s a story of reinvention, of hard work on the high seas, of love, and of survival. The crew of the Rose effectively went back in time, brought to life the old ways of a forgotten world, and barely lived to tell the tale. All Hands on Deck is a gripping story and a must-read for fans of O’Brian’s novels and the Academy Award–winning film adaptation.

This audiobook includes a supplemental PDF of maps, technical drawings, andphotographs.

This audiobook includes bonus downloadable content and an episode of The Lubber's Hole - A Patrick O'Brian Podcast featuring the author and Captain Bailey.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Will Sofrin (P)2023 Recorded Books

Pleasantly surprised

I was recommended this book by a Patrick O’Brian enthusiast. Even for those, like myself, who are merely casual readers of the Master and Commander series, this was an enjoyable read. The author has a unique and compelling style. Typically such a style isn’t developed until the writer has a few books under their belt. So I was surprised to learn that this was Will Sofrin’s first book.

Enjoyed the story, no chance of living this dream

The stories of high winds, limited showers, and faulty bathrooms should be enough to discourage all. And then there the masts breaking...

Interesting sea story not very well performed.

Sofrin does a good job of weaving together his personal experiences, the events of the voyage, historical information on tall ships in general and life as a sailor in the old days. He also provides considerable background about acclaimed nautical author Patrick O’Brian, whose novels are the basis for the movie that needed this ship. Sofrin’s matter-of-fact descriptions of truly harrowing events at sea lets the reader appreciate the challenges. The narrator speaks distinctly but frequently fails to deliver emphasis in the proper places. Worse, the publisher apparently never had anyone with nautical background listen to the finished audiobook. The consistent mispronunciation of “bowsprit” as “bowSPIRIT” is a jarring poke in the ear each time it occurs throughout the book. The use of “t’gallant” is nautically accurate in context and is pronounced correctly.

Bowsprit and topgallant!

The story is ok. Does not include anything about the film, it ends with the Rose arriving at San Diego. The narrator mispronounced bowsprit as bow spirit and top gallant as tuh gallon.

An honest and fascinating tale of taking a leap of faith.

Only a couple quibbles about the reader’s occasional mispronunciation of nautical terminology and I would have preferred the author close the loop on some open questions raised in the narrative. Nonetheless, an informative and entertaining book. Well worth reading for any fan of nautical literature.

Bow-spirit? BOW-SPIRIT!?!

The world of sailing and sailing ships is filled with esoteric words and phrases. So much so, in the Aubrey-Maturin books, that it was thought necessary to publish a companion dictionary (“A Sea of Words”).

Nor should the ordinary landsman or even beginner sailors be chastised for tripping over the esoteric language of the tall ship.

But the producers of a book that is about a tall ship experience should take a moment to check the pronunciation—aye, the spelling even—of a crucial component like the “bowsprit.”

Bowsprit. BOWSPRIT. Rhymes with cow-sh!t. Always and forever.

I checked the print edition; “bowsprit” is spelled correctly throughout its many repetitions. (Adventures on and around the ship’s bowsprit figure in the narrative.) In the book it was not spelled “bowspirit,” which even now my device is trying to autocorrect.

Imagine an audiobook in which the word “garage” is pronounced “garbage” throughout. It’s like that. And so frequently that I can’t imagine the producers finding the time and money to edit the “clam” out of the audiobook.

My sympathies to the author.

This book works

Well written and well read, captures your interest from the beginning and keeps it to the end. Not just about sailing or tall ships. The interaction with history, explanation of terms and practical demonstrations of teamwork and personal growth make this not just entertaining, but educational. This book is worth reading and re-reading.

Master & Commander Fans Should Love This Book

When director Peter Weir set about to make a film of Patrick O’Brian’s Master & Commander books, he needed a ship that closely resembled the frigate Surprise, on which many of these adventures took place. There was a ship called The Rose that would foot the bill, but it was in disrepair and in Newport, Rhode Island, thousands of miles from where the filming was to take place.
This is the story of the people who returned The Rose to seaworthinesscondition and sailed her down to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, and finally to San Diego. It's told with perception and wit and makes me wish I had been part of that crew.
The audio versions of the twenty and a third books of this series as read by Patrick Tull, are in my opinion, the crown jewels of the Audible catalog. I’ve listened to all of them many times.
I have one little niggle. The narrator, Jonathan Todd Ross did a fine job, but he is obviously not a sailor. He kept pronouncing the word "bowsprit" as bowspirit. In fairness, it is occasionally spelled that way, but I've never heard it pronounced that way. The word comes up dozens of times in the book and I cringed a little every time I heard it mis-pronounced.
If you like O'Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin books, the film Master and Commander, and/or sailing, you'll definitely enjoy this book.

Many parts are very interesting

IMHO book needs a better editor, there are many ‘you had to be there’ anecdotes. Narrator doesn’t know how to correctly pronounce many nautical terms. Otherwise, indignation on condition, maintenance and sailing are excellent.

A compelliong adventure

I was amazed by the bravery of the crew and especially the things that Will did during the voyage. The fact that this was based on real life, not fiction, made this story even better. I knew Will survived, because he wrote the book, but the voyage was quite the adventure for the crew and the reader.