I released the key and turned it again, and the Yanmar fired right up.
This did not make me happy.
I started channeling Capt. Fatty Goodlander. "Listen to your boat", said a voice in the back of my head. "She is smarter than you. She'll tell you what she needs if you will just listen."
This was not the first time this had happened. It happened once before to me, and a couple of times to Carol. I had dismissed it as a fluke, but now my boat was getting a little more insistent.
So I listened to her.
We pulled off the starter and took it to New Bern to the shop to have it refurbished. Since we had to pull off the alternator to get to the starter, we took it too.
It is unclear when the repairs will be done. I'm hoping for Friday (tomorrow), but you know how it goes. We spent the day today at the beach letting the sun bake some of the soreness out of my bones.
I'm just glad my boat told me this while we were still at the dock.