Chapter of
"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all"
--HELEN KELLER
ALONE AGAINST THE SEA
Thursday, March 24, 2005
The next New England Chapter of The Explorers Club meeting/presentation will be held on Thursday, March 24th, when we are pleased to welcome veteran writer, photographer, filmmaker, and adventurer Jon Bowermaster, whose explorations include dogsled travels in the Arctic, Antarctica, Greenland, and the Northwest Territories, and first-ever raft descents of the Futaleufu River in Chile and the Shuiluo River in China. An ardent sea kayaker, Jon has paddled the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and Indian oceans as part of his long-term OCEANS 8 endeavor- to sea kayak around the globe, one continent at a time. Supported by the National Geographic Expeditions Council, he has completed the initial five adventures, covering the heart of the Aleutian Islands, down the coast of Vietnam, through the Tuamotu Atolls in French Polynesia, across the high plains of Bolivia/Chile/Argentina and up the wild coastline of Gabon in West Africa.
Jon has chronicled his numerous adventures in such publications as the New York Times Magazine, Conde Naste Traveler, Men's Journal, and the National Geographic, with whom he has had a fifteen-year collaboration resulting in books, films and webcasts. He has written eight books, including Birthplace of the Winds: Storming Alaska's Islands of Fire and Ice and Aleutian Adventure: Kayaking in the Birthplace of the Winds, both covering his circumnavigation of the Islands of Four Mountains in Alaska's Aleutian archipelago (2001); Over the Top of the World- his journey with celebrated polar explorer Will Steger on a four-month long expedition crossing the frozen Arctic Ocean; The Adventures and Misadventures of Peter Beard in Africa- a classic account of photographer and raconteur Peter Beard's life in modern-day Kenya (1993); and Saving the Earth: A Citizen's Guide to Environmental Action- a report on the state of our environment and a source of practical information for those wishing to act (1990)..
His latest book, Alone Against the Sea and other true adventures (2004), is a new collection of stories recounting his adventures from around the world, from Chile to China, Antarctica, and Africa, by land and by sea. He has also released A Slow Boat to Somewhere, a new DVD filmed aboard a cargo boat plying the waters of Oceania. Jon will have copies available for sale.
Jon describes his motivation as follows "Whether as editor, writer, documentary producer or lecturer, my worldwide travels - influenced by an education steeped in government, politics and the environment - have a common goal: To inform myself, and my various audiences, as best I can, about how the world works today. An avid interest in history and indigenous cultures means that today my expeditions are less about adventure-for-adventure's-sake (which I think is still a fantastic goal!) and more about what the map of the world looks like early in the 21st century".