Ocean Notorious: Journeys to Lost and Lonely Places of the Deep South

by Matt Vance

Stories from outposts of the Southern Ocean, the windiest, roughest, most isolated and most important ocean on the planet. Venture to the deep south and you will experience a world like no other – forbidding subantarctic islands, astounding sea creatures, death-defying plants, the constant company of birds and, if you travel far enough, the towering ice cliffs and dead valleys of Antarctica. Few people visit this remote and mysterious region but for some the lure is irresistible. As an expedition guide, Matt Vance has accompanied intrepid tourists and birders, artists and writers. In Ocean Notorious he gives a moving first-person account of the lonely places where lives have been changed and history made - from the obsessive explorers of the heroic era to solo sailors in tiny yachts, marooned wartime coastwatchers and ruthless plunderers of wildlife to today’s dreamers, drifters and passionate preservationists.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2016

About the author

Matt Vance is a New Zealand-based writer specialising in quirky tales from the South Pacific, Southern Ocean and Antarctica. His stories and photographs have appeared in NZ Listener, Sunday Star-Times and Wilderness magazine. Matt has travelled extensively throughout the Pacific and has an immodest enthusiasm for his family, a yacht named Whitney Rose and a motley collection of eccentric friends.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small but interesting book about experiences in the Sub-Antarctic Islands (New Zealand and Australian) and around Scott Base in Antarctica by a New Zealander who was a guide on tourist expedition boats in these areas, Matt Vance.

For me it was a great book, probably due to being topical for me - having visited some of the Sub-Antarctic islands and had Matt as one of the guides on my trip.

The book manages to blend tales from history with more recent tales and Matt's experiences, in a cohesive and ordered way. Many of the stories I had hear or read of before, but enough was new to keep me interested.

Presented in three sections titled Islands , Ocean and Ice , these (obviously) tell of the islands the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. The Islands are the Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, the Auckland Islands and Macquarie (this being the one administered by Australia, and permanently occupied by the Australian Base). The New Zealand Islands are uninhabited, and require permits to land, such is the value of these from a flora and fauna perspective. Some of the stories include the Coast-Watchers, who sat up a mountain on shifts to keep a check for German navy ships. There was one on Campbell Island and two in the Auckland Islands; the world's most lonely tree, on Campbell Island - the single tree most distant from any other tree in the world; and the king penguins of Macquarie Island.

The Ocean section touches on solo yachtsmen in the Southern Ocean, icebergs, and life on an icebreaker ship for crew (and a doctor).

The Ice section includes historical polar explorers and their tales; the magnetic pole; stories of Antarctic huts; and geological drilling.

The only real criticism is that it is such a slender book - 185 pages, but with a generous number of photos (black and white productions unfortunately), and it could have been much longer, as I am sure Matt would have plenty more to tell.

4 stars, would be 5 if longer!

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great companion during my half-day commute from Bremerhaven to home. Lately I have been reading a lot on Arctic exploration, as I am preparing for a year on Svalbard myself (starting in August.. time flies). When I saw Daren read this and gave it a good review, I knew it would be my cup of tea! And it definitely was.

This book is written by a man who worked as a tour guide on different boat trips in the Southern Ocean and around Antarctica. He combines his personal stories with historical polar exploration stories, which makes this book quite a good summary/start to learn about the "heroes" in polar exploration! I found it well written and very entertaining.

My only complaint is, and others would agree, that it's quite short. There are quite a lot of historical stories, but I would love to have read more about the author's personal travels as well.

Maybe after my contract has ended I should look for a job in the Antarctic..

[Tony Gualtieri · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but slight book combining history and personal observation by a guide in the southern ocean. The author's patronizing tone regarding the birders and other tourists who pay for his services becomes tiresome.

[Bruce Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Cook once said something like, "I'm interested in the Universe and everything that surrounds it". The notorious ocean he's writing about surrounds Antarctica. It's the ocean we don't talk about while supposedly discussing 'global warming'.
Imagine talking about the world, while eliminating the most important part of it. Indeed, actively preventingit.
Look:

On a planet dominated by sea, the Southern Ocean will remain the most important body of water, driving the vast gyres of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Until the East Antarctic ice cap melts, it will be the major source of bottom-water formation, the baseline for global ocean circulation – and indeed global climate control.

We learn that three-quarters of the world's fresh water is locked up in Antarctica. The Ross Ice Shelf, a small part of Antarctica, is the size of France—an ice slice 200 meters thick. It has shrunk and expanded at least forty times in the last five million years. And Antarctica used to be almost tropical. Duh? Hello? Climate change?
Matt Vance has managed to put together a fascinating book, with some glittering insights. Highly recommended.

[Ali W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this book and the mix of observations and snippets of the history of the sub-antarctic islands and Antarctica itself. As another reviewer has mentioned, Vance does indulge in somewhat snide comments about birders at times - the very people who supported his pay packet. No doubt some of those people would be truly annoying, but at times his attitude grates. On balance though there is some great writing and I felt transported to some places I hope to visit and those I know I never will. A book I would like to add to my own library.

[Svensgaard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat misleading title, as much of the book deals with Antarctica rather than the Southern Ocean.