Chaucer’s Books will host master shipwright and local author Will Sofrin for a book talk and signing, 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 27 at the store, 3321 State St.

Sofrin’s book “All Hands On Deck: A Modern-Day High Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the World,” is a maritime adventure memoir that follows a crew of misfits hired to sail an 18th-century warship 5,000 miles to Hollywood.

In the late 1990s, Patrick O’Brian’s multimillion-copy-selling historical novel series — the “Aubrey–Maturin” series 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. But there was one problem: the Rose was in Newport, Rhode Island, not in Southern California, where they would be filming.

Enter a ragtag crew of 30 oddballs who stepped up for the task, including Will Sofrin, at the time a 21-year-old builder of wooden boats and yacht racer, who joined as the ship’s carpenter.

“All Hands on Deck” is Sofrin’s tale of the epic adventure delivering the Rose to Hollywood.
The Rose was an example of 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.

Sofrin has taught naval architecture at MIT and built boats for Billy Joel and Estée Lauder. As a former professional sailor and licensed captain, he has tracked more than 30,000 blue-water miles.

In 2014, he moved to Los Angeles and launched a design firm specializing in luxury residential development. He continues to race sailboats.