Without a Paddle

Journalist Warren Richey, newly divorced and having a mid-life crisis, decided almost on a whim to enter a kayak race circumnavigating Florida. This would require Richey to paddle at least 65 km a day for 30 straight days, as well as endure a gruelling 100 km portage.
It’s not just a race around Florida, it’s a tour through Richey’s life as he faces the unexpected turns in both the coastline and his life. He begins the journey with an injured shoulder and the ghosts of his failed marriage, and travels almost 2000 km around the state, reliving the highs and low of both his career and his personal life, and as he keeps up a punishing paddling rate of 18 to 20 hours of paddling a day.
Not only does Richey gives us a descriptive and interesting narrative of his race around Florida, he also offers up engaging vignettes from his life as he recalls his adventures in the Middle East and his journalistic career. When he's not thoroughly confused from lack of sleep, he reflects on his life's choices, and a debates another life-altering choice he's considering making when the race is over. Entertaining and heartfelt, Richey's is a journey that is well worth taking with him.