An evocative and mesmerizing page-turner, Cold Oceans is the thrilling story of Jon Turk's expeditions to some of the most inhospitable regions on earth. Even after being ship wrecked off Cape Horn, stopped by ice in the Northwest Passage, and beaten back by Arctic blizzards, Turk has continued to follow an irresistible urge to explore. Woven throughout the book is Jon's deepening relationship with Chris Seashore, his reflections on the legendary explorers  who preceded him, and his friendships with the aboriginal people who survive in these harsh lands. Cold Oceans is a story of love, self-discovery, and an exuberant passion for wild places.

(Cover shown here is the original First Edition cover)

 Praise for: Cold Oceans

From Washington Post Book World:  Turk's chisled but understated prose is a marked asset in light of the often outlandish material that comes his way.

Guided by his restless spirit and fueled by tales of Elizabethan explorers, Turk first heads off to kayak alone around Cape Horn. But while he is paddling through the rain and mists a raging storm scuttles his plans.

On his next expedition, he and his partner, Chris Seashore, attempt to row the Northwest Passage in a single season, but find themselves more often dragging than rowing their skiff through the half-frozen, gelatinous sea.

As they are bogged down by heavy sea ice, Jon became frustrated and asked, "Maybe we could reach Pond Inlet if we could just get going; if the trip would finally get underway."

Chris answered, "Jon, the trip isn't going to start; it has started.  This is the trip.  Can't you see that even now?"

Two years later, he attempts to run a dog team up the east coast of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, making his final camp beneath a wind varnished iceberg locked into a frozen sea.	On his fourth expedition, he's again joined by Chris as they paddle sea kayaks along an ancient Inuit migration route from Ellesmere Island to Greenland. Following the footsteps of old ways, and listening to the land, its people, and its ghosts, they make the treacherous crossing but also find the goal within the journey.

Seventeen years after his first expedition and shipwreck, Jon returned to Cape Horn with a partner, Mike Latendresse. Working together and dodging storms, the pair rounded The Horn a day after Jon's 51st birthday.