Cold Oceans: Adventures by Kayak, Rowboat, and Dogsled
by Jon Turk
– Reviewed by Angie Abdou for The Fernie Fix’s March 2009 Issue
Available in Fernie at Polar Peek Books & Treasures

Big news – Cold Oceans, by Fernie’s Jon Turk, is back in print.  Cold Oceans is Jon’s first book, and it has, unfortunately, been out-of-print and fairly difficult to get a hold of for the past couple years. However, just this month, the American Authors Guild re-released Cold Oceans as part of its back-in-print initiative. The timing is perfect. Jon’s third book, Raven’s Gift, is currently in the production phase, and though Jon originally wrote Cold Oceans as a stand-alone book, he now sees it as an introduction to a trilogy that includes In the Wake of Jomon and Raven’s Gift. With the re-release of Cold Oceans, you now have time to get your own copy and read it before Raven’s Gift hits the stands.

In terms of genre, Cold Oceans is non-fictional travel adventure. It chronicles four expeditions to some of the most hostile natural environments on earth. The book thus breaks into four main sections, each giving a detailed account of a specific expedition: 1) Jon’s solo kayaking trip around Cape Horn; 2) his attempt to row the Northwest Passage in a single season with Chris Seashore; 3) his expedition up the east coast of Baffin Island in the Canadian Artic by dogsled; and 4) his kayaking expedition from Ellesmere Island to Greenland, again with Chris Seashore. 

The three books work as a trilogy partly because readers follow Jon Turk’s progression from a traveler obsessed with the “success” of his expeditions to an adventurer open to the experiences and spiritual lessons that his journeys provide. Also, the books are connected by their accounts of Jon’s late wife, Chris Seashore. In the first book, Jon meets Chris and begins his journey—both literal and metaphorical—with her. From Chris, Jon learns to redefine the concepts of success and failure. In the final book, Chris dies tragically in an avalanche, and Jon travels to a remote Siberian village “to seek emotional equanimity.”

I have to confess that I’m a novel junky. I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, and I’ve hardly ever read travel adventure. I was, therefore, surprised to find myself staying up late into the night to finish Cold Oceans in a single sitting. I’m gigantically pregnant at the moment, so something has to be pretty wildly exciting to keep me up past 9pm. Cold Oceans is, indeed, exciting. 

Truthfully, I was excited by the people in this book as much as I was excited by the adventures. I read novels for the people, for the insight into human motivation, for the chance to put myself into the skin of someone entirely unlike myself. Cold Oceans has all of that. I was fascinated by the “characters” in this book, characters who have the added dimension of being actual flesh-and-blood, real-life people, ones I can corner at The Brickhouse and demand, “Tell me more!”

As I read Cold Oceans, I became addicted to learning about these individuals who are ruled by their insatiable desire for adventure. I couldn’t get enough of Jon (the untamable explorer with an intense, almost violent, desire to succeed) or of Chris (the quietly wise and strong outdoors woman with an ability to see the higher, philosophical purpose of each journey) or of Dave (the anti-social and selfish expedition partner hiding in his sleeping-bag with pictures of his naked girlfriend). As I came to know these people and to understand the passions that drive them, I found answers to questions I didn’t even know I had. Some questions were obvious, like “Why??? Why in the world would anyone do this?” Some were less obvious, like “How hungry does one have to be to eat bird embryos?” 

Even more so than a novel, this memoir provides voyeuristic thrills, glimpses into the intimate thoughts and epiphanies of a stranger. Cold Oceans deeply immerses readers into the very skin of a true adventurer, someone almost not of this time. As I sped through the pages, I began to understand why someone would forego comfort, companionship, and even a reliable food source in order to appease a natural –and age old – inclination to quest. 

I, on the other hand, would still rather stay home next to a warm fire and simply read about such expeditions. I, therefore, thank Jon Turk for sharing his adventures—and insights—with those of us particularly attached to dry socks, clean underwear, warm beds, and predictable dinners.  I eagerly await Raven’s Gift.

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