John F. Dillon

Return to Islamorada John F. Dillon

Return to Islamorada is a 70,000 word descriptive narrative that interweaves ingredients of human drama and nautical adventure. It is a story of internal and external conflicts revolving around John, a middle age, self-doubting Captain and his three friends, Frank, a successful businessman faced with the crisis of midlife; Ronlee, a strapping youth with an excess of testosterone; and Sal, a claustrophobic. The saga unfolds as they prepare for a sailing trip over Labor Day Weekend. The description of events and conversations between the men are designed to augment the scope and tone of this chronicle. The narrative traces a foolhardy current day voyage and a devastating hurricane of yesterday. It is a tale of four men that take on more than they can handle when they sail the small sailboat, Keelover, into the islands and reefs of the Florida Keys. Their destination is a string of islands in the center of the archipelago called Islamorada. They are barely aware that the history of the sub-tropical paradise alternates from harsh and gentle, with bright sunshine and swaying palms intermingled with the havoc of deadly hurricanes. Through a detailed plot, the inner emotions of the protagonists are revealed to dramatize their fight against the elements and their courageous spirits. By using realistic Florida settings, the text renders a tale that enacts the determination of a group of men to battle against the power of nature to survive.