ALL HANDS ON DECK, A Modern-day High Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the World!

In the late 1990s, Patrick O’Brian’s beloved, massively bestselling historical novel series was destined for film, with Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. While director Peter Weir and stars Russel Crowe and Paul Bettany were signed on, there was only one problem: The Rose, the replica eighteenth-century warship that the filmmakers had 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 21-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.

This is a story about human relationships and survival as a crew of thirty men and women are pressed to quickly learn how to sail a replica of an old British warship 6,000 miles to Hollywood. The clock was ticking, tens of millions of dollars were on the line, they came close to sinking, and could have died, all while trying to deliver a movie prop.

The program includes a narrated presentation by Will Sofrin, featuring a curated selection of film footage and photographs from the passage. The presentation is then followed by a Q&A