After our day sail, we noticed that Scout's port-side tube was a little flabby. Before launching, we pumped both tubes up the recommended pressure (0.25 bar, 3.5 PSI)

After going ashore we noticed that Scout's port side tube had progressed to very flabby.

After dinner, we were so alarmed that we took engine and gas tank out of Scout. We didn't think she'd last the night.

Today, we brought her up on deck, pumped all the air out of the tubes, rolled her into her valise. So far, so good. Nothing too difficult there.

Then we put her on the launch and took her to shore. She ways 90 pounds, so that was a bit of work.

Then we horsed her onto our folding hand cart, dragged her up to the bus stop and took the bus (for 90 minutes) to 159th street where we went to visit Lifeline Inflatable Services, Inc.

Yes, we took a 90 lb. dinghy on a city bus for an hour-and-a-half bus ride from Coconut Grove to North Miami (almost Miami Gardens,) a distance of about 15 miles.

The Miami Dade bus system is quite nice.

And one of the passengers on the way back was so delighted to see our bus driver that her joy was infectious. She was so excited, she started calling friends to announce to the world that she'd run into Rhonda driving the route 22 bus! Loudly. It wasn't just a bus ride, it was a family reunion.

Lifeline Inflatable Services have a great-looking facility. They seem to know what they're doing. We think the hole is a small nail-like puncture straight through the rubstrake, so it would require some real work to get the rubstrake off, patch the hole and replace the strake.

Kenny was pressure-testing the dinghy all afternoon. He called around 17:00 to say that there's no problem that he can fix. He'll give it the weekend to see if there's a leak.

No leak? That's confusing. The tube was nearly flat when we brought her up on deck.

It appears that I didn't shut the valves correctly when I pumped up Scout after our sail. That's awkward to have schlepped Scout all over Miami for nothing. We'll, not absolutely nothing. A clean bill of health has some value.

Having dead transportation is very stressful.

Yes, the launch runs every hour.

But, now we're tied to the launch schedule. No sauntering back from Starbucks whenever. We need to be at the dock at 11:00, or Noon, or we're not getting back to the boat.

And the winds are predicted to be harsh 13-18 kt for the next few days. The kind of wind that keeps the launch safely at the dock. Monday, it's unlikely that the launch will even run. It may be gusting into the 30's or even higher as the expected cold front passed through.

Saturday, is laundry day. We'll see how awkward getting into the launch is with a load of trash, and laundry bags, too.