Book Reading and Signing

[kayakcyndi]

Author Warren Ritchey invites members of the Washington Canoe Club to a reading and discussion of his new book, Without a Paddle.

It is a travel narrative and memoir of how a 50-year-old journalist entered a 1,200-mile race around Florida in a sea kayak and managed to paddle, claw, and otherwise find his way back to life after a failed marriage.

Without a Paddle is published by St. Martin’s Press and will be in bookstores on Tuesday, June 8. That same evening the author will be at the Barnes & Noble at 4801 Bethesda Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland at 7 p.m. to discuss the book and the race.

Anyone who has paddled or sailed more than a few miles in a small boat has dreamed of heading off on a long journey. Some folks never do more than dream. Without a Paddle is about what happens when you jump off that cliff and go for it.

The race is called the Ultimate Florida Challenge. The idea is to circle Florida in 30 days or less. That means traveling at least 40 miles a day, every day. The course includes a 40-mile portage between the St. Marys River and Suwannee River in north Florida.

This is a crazy race. But it is not impossible. The next Florida Challenge is set for March 2012 and the roster is already filling up.