Even as director Peter Weir and stars Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany signed on to adapt Patrick O'Brian's novels into Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, there was one problem: The Rose, the replica 18th-century warship that filmmakers bought for the production, was in Newport, Rhode Island, thousands of miles away from Hollywood. Enter a ragtag crew of 30 oddballs and tall ship fanatics, including Will Sofrin—a young wooden-boat builder—and he provides a thrilling account of this unforgettable voyage