'All Hands on Deck' recounts high seas voyage of famed movie ship

S1: You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. If you've ever walked around San Diego's harbor , you've likely seen the small fleet of historical ships docked at the Maritime Museum. Now , of course , everyone knows the star of India. But another ship , the HMS Surprise , has a rich and storied history of its own. 20 years ago , 20th Century Fox purchased the ship for use in the film Master and Commander , based off the successful series of Patrick O'Brian novels. The problem The ship was bought in Rhode Island. Filming , however , was at Fox Studios in Baja , California. That meant that a ragtag crew of sailors and ship enthusiasts would have to sail the vessel across thousands of miles of open sea to its destination. As you might expect , the journey was not without its fair share of adventure challenges and dangers. Author Will Sovereign was among the crew of the surprise for the voyage across the seas , and he's out with a new book , All Hands on Deck , that recalls the daunting tale. He spoke with Midday Edition producer Harrison Patino about his new book and the journey that inspired it. And he starts off by sharing what made him want to share this story 20 years after his original voyage.

S2: I've got a seven year old daughter , and I started writing this book four years ago after being prompted at a New Year's party , when people have always loved hearing my stories. And this tale certainly is probably at the top of my list of stories. And I thought , what a great adventure. It'd be great to write it all down so that when my daughter gets older , she could read this adventure. But then even more so for younger people like her. Maybe other people will read about this adventure and it might inspire them to make their own adventure.

S3: So the ship at the center of this story , it's got a pretty interesting history. And in fact , it wasn't even called the surprise at first.

S2: So the ship is a little different than HMS Surprise , but at the time when Peter Weir wanted to find a ship to make the movie , Master and Commander Rose was the only sailing frigate in the world. So he he had found her and decided she was going to be the starship. And with his team of Shipwrights and historical experts , they all agreed and decided that this was going to be the best ship that they could transform and be that perfect match to star in the film.

S3: Now , you weren't chosen to be involved in this project just because of your enthusiasm alone. You have a bit of a sailing background yourself.

S2: It was that was my first big sailing job. Before that , I had been doing an apprenticeship to learn how to be a wooden boat builder and restore wood and yachts. So this job opportunity was great for me because it gave me the opportunity to work as a shipwright on the ship and be a ship's carpenter , and then also had the experience of sailing the ship.

S3: Well , let's talk about the actual journey itself. The thing that prompted you to write this book , Rhode Island to Southern California , is no miner expedition.

S2: For one , departing from Newport in January to sail through the North Atlantic. Just a terrible , terrible time of year to go sailing in the North Atlantic. And we a few days out encountered a pretty intense storm , the roughest weather I've ever sailed through in my life and also the the roughest weather that the ship had ever experienced. We experienced force 12 conditions which could be classified as hurricane conditions. And then we sailed from Puerto Rico to Panama. That was our second leg. In the middle of that leg , we were dismasted under full sail , about right , dead smack in the middle. And you would hope that the journey would sort of ease off there. But after crossing the transiting the Panama Canal , we continued north along the western seaboard of North America and had run ins with waterspouts and a few more gales. It was it was quite a loaded adventure.

S3: You just used a term there that I think some people might not be familiar with.

S4:

S2: Changing in tire. No. The term dismasted means that our mast broke. And what that meant was we had our sails set and because the ship had a number of mass , not all of the rig went over , but we broke two masts in one yard and trying to tackle that in the middle of the ocean was just something that I don't really think you can prepare for. But fortunately , we had incredible leadership on board the ship and our officers did a great job of coordinating effort , keeping everyone calm , and we pulled it all off.

S3: You sailed near something that was called the graveyard of the Atlantic. I care to explain that name ? Yeah.

S2: The graveyard of the Atlantic is a portion of the Atlantic Ocean , let's say east of Cape Hatteras. Just to make it simple , in between Florida and New England. And there's I think over 5000 ships have been lost in that part of the ocean in the last 4 or 500 years. So it's a pretty treacherous part of the world. And ships still ships and sailboats still get sink there every year. Fortunately , that number has gone down quite a bit because of advances in technology and our ability to predict whether.

S3: You know , having seen the film Master and Commander and hearing you talk about the journey yourself , I'm noticing a lot of parallels between what the crew went through in the movie versus what the crew went through in real life.

S2: A film. Your question prompts me to think about Peter Weir's involvement with my book. I had reached out to him while writing it , and I didn't really expect him to to come back to me , but he did with open arms and was very eager to be available. And even I think his blurb says that itself , which he said facts , talks fiction with this book.

S3: Now , I wanted to talk more about the crew itself. Patrick O'Brien , and he's the author of the series of books that the film is based off of. He writes that the essence of his books are about human relationships.

S2: This book , I thought that I was writing a book about my experience of sailing. ROSE And now that so much time has passed since that experience happened. I had the opportunity to , from a mature angle , decide how I was going to structure the book and then constructively approach my shipmates and interview them , talk with them , rebuild certain bonds and relationships. And I had maintained a close relationship , so let's say 5 or 6 of my shipmates. But through this project I was able to reach out to reconnect with 22 of the 30 crew members on board. And this book became so much more than just about sailing. It rekindled these relationships and reminded me how much of a family we became through the process that we went through to get here.

S3: You know , so much of the film and the books , they deal with camaraderie and the importance of bonding with your crew , especially at sea.

S2: We had a smattering of personalities. I like to think of this as sort of a a modern day Princess Bride story where we weren't all these pirate creators or people living in the past. I mean , I was more of a modern sailor , but we certainly had a percentage of the crew members who were loved. The historic aspect of sailing a ship like Rose.

S4: But when those when we went through those.

S2: Ten situations of the mastering or sailing through that big storm , you didn't have time to to the differences were put aside. And we all really had to depend on each other for our lives and our safety. And I learned a lot about even the people that I didn't like. And I'm sure , you know , that was a two way street. It wasn't just about my opinion. I think. Not every day humans get put in a position where you really do depend on other people for your lives as much as we did. And I think that experience was very special and unique , and I cherish it.

S3: You know , that brings up my next question. You were sailing a vessel modeled after ships that are hundreds of years old. I'm sure plenty of our listeners have been on a cruise ship or maybe even a fishing charter.

S2: I mean , yes , we had modern amenities such as engines , electricity and plumbing. But if we were to take those monies away to sail , a ship like Rose still meant sailing her like crewed like the cruise did 200 years ago. And that meant there were no winches , no mechanical advantages. We really needed a lot of hands and a lot of muscle to trim and set the sails. And in addition , safety standards have come so far from then to now because of experience. Sailing a ship like Rose requires climbing a loft to to set the square sails , which are the big square shaped sails. Whereas today any modern sailing vessel doesn't require the crew to go aloft , all the setting and trimming functions can all be done from deck. Now , don't get me wrong , I'm not saying that what we did is a dangerous form of sailing. Fortunately , today , through through experience and care , the tall ship communities around the country and around the world have done an excellent job of incorporating modern safety techniques into these old sailing vessels so that today's crews can sail these vessels more safely.

S3: Now , we've certainly got a strong maritime culture here in San Diego. And you write about the fascination that people have for a certain era of naval exploration and adventures.

S2: Going , going , you know , sending out to orbit. Rose was the example of the greatest technology that society had. And to sail a ship like Rose 200 years ago , you'd be sailing around the world and you had to be you had to be self-sustaining. You had to be able to fix everything. You were an explorer and you were a participant. And I think that today , when people think of ships like this , you are not a passenger , you're an active participant. And the feeling that you get , let's say , sailing from one destination to the next is very fulfilling because it was all the success of achieving your mission is all due to your hard work and how you thought about it and what you put into it and the people you were with.

S3:

S2: I've through writing the book , I've gotten to know the San Diego Maritime Museum , the staff there , the volunteers. Last year I was invited out to go race on the Californian for the America Schooner Cup Regatta. And I can't say enough. I think the San Diego Maritime Museum stands out as one of the best maritime museums I've visited in the country. I love their program. I just can't say enough about it. And wherever I go , I do try and recommend to other institutions that they look at the volunteer program at the San Diego Maritime Museum to understand how you can achieve success.

S3: So the ship does have a home in San Diego's harbor , but keeping and maintaining a historic vessel is really no small feat.

S2: I think what goes into keeping these vessels afloat is community participation. I think it's a collaborative effort of everyone recognizing that it needs to be constant. You can't really take a break at it , and you've got to maintain that commitment and due diligence. I think trying to do the minimum would certainly insure failure. I think what it takes to keep these vessels floating and in great working order requires a great amount of community effort and participation. And beyond that , I think it's really important that younger generations are brought into the fold so they can participate in the care of vessels like this and also participate in the operation of them. Because if we're going to ensure the continued maritime heritage of America , we need to make sure that we're inviting as much of America's youth into this heritage.

S3: You know , aside from the modern day swashbuckling and high seas adventure that your book is all about , there's also a message in it about the importance of trades , really , and taking pride in working with your hands.

S2: Both of them were college dropouts who had later gone back to college while they were raising me and my sisters. And I think their experience gave them the confidence to support me and and becoming a wooden boat builder and taking. Participating in an apprenticeship. For me , that was the right decision. And I think that continued education is imperative. But I , I fully believe that college may not be the right path for everyone. And having found great fulfillment and success in my life , I hope to be a big advocate for encouraging younger people to feel better about making decisions where they can earn a wonderful living and find great fulfillment by working with their hands and learning a trade.

S3: No , I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. We're talking about your recent book , All Hands on Deck. But you do have another book on the way.

S2: My next project , I'm still in the development and the reporting stage , but my next book is really going to be focused around the process of learning through doing. I think practical experience is imperative and I'd like to explore and reveal different career paths that certain individuals have taken around our country , where they found success and fulfillment. Because I think that if I can deliver wonderful stories about people who have maybe become a glassblower or a tattoo artist or even a sous chef in a kitchen and show what their life is like and talk about where they came from and where they're going , Maybe we can inspire some more younger people to feel better about following their own passions.

S3: Well , I'm enjoying this book and I'm looking forward to the next one. I've been speaking with Will Safran , author of the new book All Hands on Deck. And Will , thank you so much for talking with us today.

S2: HARRISON Thank you for having me.

S1: That was Master shipwright and public speaker Will Sovereign Speaking with Midday Edition producer Harrison Patino about his new book , All Hands on Deck. So Fran will be speaking about his book on Wednesday , May 3rd at the Southwestern Yacht Club in Point Loma. For more information , you can visit our website , pbs.org.