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.
