BIO:

Instead of attending college after high school, I became an apprentice shipwright to learn how to build and restore wooden yachts. As an apprentice, I studied the mechanics of wooden boats and naval architecture. After completing my apprenticeship, I became a professional sailor, predominantly working on luxury wooden sailing yachts. I worked for years, rising in rank, eventually becoming a licensed captain, all while tracking over 30,000 blue-water miles as I sailed throughout Europe, New England, the Caribbean, Central America, and the California coast. I've sailed some of the most famous yachts in the world, and participated in numerous world-class sailing events such as the America’s Cup Jubilee, The Prada Classic Yacht Challenge, and the 12-meter World Championships.

About the book:

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 Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World. With director Peter Weir and stars Russel Crowe and Paul Bettany signed on, 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.

MORE ON WILL

MORE ON THE BOOK