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A maritime adventure memoir that follows a crew of misfits hired to sail an 18th-century warship 6,000 miles to Hollywood

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 problem: 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 Master and Commander.

Steve Callahan is sailing his mini back from the Canary Islands in 1982 when he hits something that fatally wounds his boat. He is able to escape to his life raft with minimal supplies/tools but through ingenuity, perseverance, determination, skill and a little luck he survives 76 days until being spotted by fishermen in the Caribbean. An amazing story that also teaches survival skills. I read this book when it first came out in 1986 and not a day goes by I don't think about some aspect of it. I was lucky to meet Steve a couple years ago and have him sail with me, great guy.

By the time the U.S. Women’s Challenge had completed the first leg of the 1993-94 Whitbread Round-the-World Race, the crew was riven by dissent, financial problems, and personal conflicts. Only a new captain could save the all-women’s team from mutiny and lead them to a successful finish. When Dawn Riley received an unexpected phone call from Uruguay asking her to take on the assignment, she was not eager to step into the midst of a fractured crew—and yet she knew she needed to keep this boat in the race. She packed up her life and flew south. After four days of hasty boat preparation and group training, the women set out from sunny Punta del Este, unprepared for the perils of the treacherous Southern Ocean. In their streamlined, stripped-down vessel, the crew faced near-hurricane winds, numbing temperatures, and jagged icebergs. Eating freeze-dried food and working in four-hour watches, they braved the forces of nature in the face of physical injury, dwindling supplies, equipment failure, and overall exhaustion. In the midst of it all, bitter resentment was brewing among the original crew members while the controversy over Riley’s takeover made headlines on land. As the boat sailed on to complete the arduous six-leg race, this female crew and their boat—renamed Heineken for its new sponsor—circumnavigated the globe. But these women traveled much farther than the race’s 32,000 miles: with each leg and each new test, this crew learned to rally under their captain’s leadership when their very survival was at stake. In recounting how she took responsibility for the lives of eleven other women, Riley tells an extraordinary story of self-discovery within the gripping context of the world’s most demanding sailboat race.

A good biography of Ted Hood and his contributions to the sport.