The wind was just right for a fast reach northwesterly across the Bay of Naples to Miseno. The small bay of Miseno is one of the only really secure, natural harbors along the whole western coast of Italy, offering protection from virtually all directions. It was the port from which the Emperor Augustus controlled the whole of the Mediterranean. Ten thousand sailors and another ten thousand civilians lived on the tiny spit of land surrounding the port thanks to the Roman aqueduct "Aqua Augusta" that brought water to the whole parched area from the springs of Serinus some sixty miles away. Wealthy Romans kept their seaside resorts here. Back in those days the sea level was a lot lower, so today many of the ruins of these villas are underwater.

We left Zia at anchor and took a ferry to the ancient city of Pompeii. Overlooking the sprawling ruins of this ancient city, with Mount Vesuvius looming in the background, we were a little overwhelmed. The wealth of knowledge gleaned from this and other nearby ruins, devastated by the volcano's explosion on August 24th, 79 AD, is astonishing. Most of the people in Pompeii were killed by the toxic fumes within the first few hours of the initial explosion; in the end, the entire city and its citizens lay buried under nine feet of volcanic ash.

Ruins of Pompeii.

Although blessed by the cooler weather and a steady breeze, we were still faced with the task of cajoling our kids through a bunch of run-down buildings that all pretty much look alike. The ruins cover about one square kilometer, consisting of cobblestone streets and alleyways lined with homes and shops and public areas. Only about half the entire area is open to the public but even so, it is a formidable task, weaving your way through the maze and understanding what you are looking at. In hindsight we should have sprung for a guide, but we made our way through most of the site, although not always understanding what we were looking at. Luckily, we have a book to refer back to and help us learn more about what we saw.

Roman theater in Pompeii.

Having kept the girls away from their friends on Cenou for two whole days, we decided on a beach day on the nearby island of Procida. Our guide books promised a less touristy version of the beautiful islands we had seen in this area so far. The city itself is a charming collection of houses and pastel buildings, one right on top of the other, and in need of a paint job.

While we were in town enjoying lunch, a forty-foot powerboat with an anchor scope of about 1 to 1 dragged down on us. Luckily, our friend Claude had stayed behind and we found him there, holding the motor boat off the bows of Zia with his dinghy. Apparently, the guy had dragged all the way through the anchorage before Claude noticed and jumped in his dinghy to help. We promptly joined in and with two dinghies pushing, it was a lot easier to keep the boat away from other boats while we tried to get the attention of the owner onshore. I jumped on board and started honking the horn and other boats chimed in with their air horns. While aboard, I was trying to find the trick to firing up the motors. Even though both keys were in the ignition, some security device kept me from starting it up. It took another ten minutes before the sheepish owner showed up to re-anchor. I kind of let him off the hook without saying too much, but a few other boats nearby really let the guy have it. They called the port captain, who promptly came out to give the guy another tongue lashing.

Dragging powerboat.

I took this photo from the deck as both dinghies were trying to keep this condo-sized boat from dragging into Zia.