We left Bristol Rhode Island at 7:25 Saturday morning. Fifteen minutes in, Mrs. Horne went to adjust the thermostat and noticed the power was off.

A quick check of the power panel revealed the generator had shut down. I put the Dockmate in precision hold, Mrs. Horne took watch, we put our headsets on, and I went to the engine room to diagnose the problem.

There was a warning light and the top was pretty hot. I cleaned the strainer and tried bagain. No luck.

I returned to the bridge and we continued our 75-mile trek to Connecticut without AC or the Gyro.

As much as I hate any failure on the boat, losing AC in 73° weather and losing the gyro on calm seas is about as benign as it gets.

Still, we had 2 1/2 hours to go to beat the incoming storm which might hit Connecticut as early as 10:00 AM.

I texted Saybrook Point Marina in the hopes of finding a tech on Saturday morning. They hooked me up with Scott at S&S. It looked like an impeller failure and I thought I had a spare on board. Scott told me to call him when I arrived and he’d see what he could do.

Meanwhile the Long Island Sound remained calm as we passed Fisher Island to the south.

Old Saybrook

The approach is a little confusing, but as soon as I figured it out I realized I’d been here before. Old Saybrook sits at the mouth of the river that leads to Essex.

The Saybrook Point Marina is part of the resort with the same name.

The Marina is well maintained with floating wood docks, but it felt a little tight for a 60’ boat (65’ overall).

Anticipating torrential downpours, I just gave the boat a quick washdown with city water. Given the incoming storm, we decided to skip visiting downtown and ate lunch at the resort.

We entered the resort from the street near the courtesy shuttle.

I immediately flashed back to all the conferences and off-site meetings I attended in my working days.

As we followed the signs we passed function rooms hosting birthdays, reunions, and even a Celebration of Life.

Fresh Salt

Eventually, we took a turn back toward the water and found the restaurant.

It’s a very stylish seaside eatery with a nice long bar. Better yet, there were two corner stools open amongst a group of women engaged in a light-hearted conversation.

Debbie told us she was getting married later that evening so Mrs. Horne immediately bought them a round of drinks.

After that, I quietly enjoyed about an hour of spirited girl talk while waiting for lunch (despite the best efforts of the bartender, service was a tad slow.)

The food was nevertheless tasty.

We left the restaurant and got back to the boat just as the rain began.

We also got back just in time to see the Maritimo M55 Bellissimo backing into the slip next to us.

We watched the end of Season 1 of H/Jack (an Apple TV mini-series) and decided to stay in and I made Mrs. Horne a cheese plate for dinner.

We made a new friend at lunch – Karla from Stamford, and invited her and her husband Robert over Sunday morning.

They own a Fly 42 but are starting to think about a larger boat so we invited them to tour Amazing Grace and learn about Maritimo.

Coincidentally, we had a rare sighting in Old Saybrook – three Maritimos docked side-by-side!

Captain Charlie was on a three-day run from Nantucket to Cape May and they took off early for Liberty Landing in Jersey City.

I caught their departure on video. It was interesting to see Captain Charlie pilot Bellissimo from the foredeck using his yacht controller.

I use my Dockmate backing into a slip, but leaving, I steer from the bridge and rely on Mrs. Horne to tell me when the stern is clear over the headset.

World Cup Sunday

Football (AKA Soccer) has truly arrived in America. People were talking about it everywhere and planning where to watch it.

I thought the game was at 3:00, but when I checked the program guide on YouTube TV to make sure I was recording it and it showed it beginning at 11:00!

I offloaded the bikes and we headed downtown to watch the game at a sports bar.

There are two semi-sports bars in Old Saybrook – The Penny Lane Pub and The Rabbit Hole. The Rabbit Hole had a more interesting menu, so we decided to try it.

The Rabbit Hole

As soon as I sat down I realized the game didn’t start at 11:00, that was the four-hour pregame show!

The menu is basically four items – Wings, Salads, Hot Dogs, and Burgers, in all sorts of different preparations.

• Burgers – 19 Options
• Hot Dogs – 15 Options
• Wings – 5 Options

They will turn any burger into a slider for only $5, so I ordered two.

Both were very good, but the Buffalo Bill was outstanding!

I could taste all the flavors, but the Buffalo Sauce wasn’t overpowering..

The onion rings were literally perfect. Hot, crunchy, the proper ratio of coating and onion, and perhaps most importantly, the coating stayed attached to the onions!

I really liked the Rabbit Hole. The simple menu actually delivers a lot of variety and everything was hot and perfectly prepared.

It’s also very reasonably priced!

After lunch we rode up and down Main Street.

Mrs. Horne did some shopping and I grabbed an iced coffee at the Paperback Cafe.

When I returned, Mrs. Horne had made new friends with Karen and Lou from Essex.

They have a Back Cove 34 and cruise out of Essex. We may be meeting up with them on Block Island.

Despite the quaint name, Old Saybrook is not really a village, more of a main drag. It’s also not a great place for biking. Route 154 is 35 MPH and has inconsistent bike lanes that range from 3’ to 12”.

We rode back to the boat and watched the most lopsided World Cup in history.

Resort Transportation

The resort offers a free shuttle to and from town. They are also part of a special Tesla demo program. They have two self-driving Teslas that guests can use for free for up to four hours.

After the game, we got a ride to dinner from Gerord in a very cool electric VW Bus…

The Aspen Restaurant

Having stayed in on Saturday night, we ended up with only one dinner night in Old Saybrook. We considered Liv’s Oyster Bar, but the menu at Aspen really caught my eye.

There were at least five things on the menu I wanted to try:

• LOBSTER & BACON FRIED RICE – $16
  crispy vegetable stir-fry, sweet soy, scallion
• KOBE BEEF POT STICKERS – $18
  Mhouse-made, crispy fried wontons, sweet ginger soy glaze, napa cabbage, leek
• BLUE CRAB BEIGNETS – $16
  sweet blue crab, mascarpone, chervil,
  local seacoast mushrooms, mascarpone, shallots, herbs, truffle, frizzy onions
• SEOUL-FIRE SHORT RIB – SMALL $18 MAIN $36
  house bulgogi glaze, grilled baby bok choy, leek, shiitake, lemongrass, sesame, lemon aioli
• PRIME SIRLOIN -$42
  10oz filet cut, bacon-gorgonzola crust, glace, yukon gold potato puree, asparagus

We got wonderful seats at the end of the bar.

Service from Hayley was outstanding.

She made me a perfect Dry Grey Goose Martini and helped me decide which of the five options would be best.

I mentioned that I wasn’t crazy about the sides that came with the steak and Hayley pointed out that I could Ala Carte the steak for $31!

I ordered the steak with a unique potato side…

My steak was more medium than medium-rare, but I didn’t care. It was delicious.

We waited outside for Gerord and our ride back to the boat.

Despite the lack of biking options, I would return just for the restaurants. Maybe a night here and a night in Essex.

Monday Departure

S&S showed up at 9:00 a.m. and replaced the impeller. Sadly, the generator still didn’t work.

They said that this was most likely a self-protect event triggered by the computer to protect against overheating. They also said that the next step would require a Kohler Factory Certified tech with a laptop and diagnostic software.

Oh well, I suppose we can get home without a generator which is good, because we have no choice!

The ride to Watch Hill was quite pleasant.

Next Up: Trappped By Shifting Sands