4: Off to Castellammare di Stabia 



IT is not enough simply to construct a bathyscaphe. There must still 

 be found a base suitable for submarine expeditions, and one supplied 

 with workshops, with, of course, their directors and their engineers. 

 The North Adriatic was ruled out : it lacks the necessary depth. The 

 Italian Navy suggested the dockyards of the ' Navalmeccanica ' at 

 Castellammare di Stabia — a little port situated in the southern part of 

 the Gulf of Naples, facing Vesuvius, at the foot of the Monte Faïto. 

 There are found together the activity of Northern Italy and the well- 

 known charm of Southern Italy. 



It was there then that the cabin and float had to be taken. How was 

 the latter to be transported from Trieste to the Gulf of Naples ? If the 

 freight charges, calculated on the 4238 cu. ft. (120 cu. m.) of the 

 float, had not been exorbitant, and if we had found a cargo-boat 

 making the trip at the right moment, we should have chosen the 

 maritime route. Second possibility: to launch the float and have it 

 towed by a small motor-boat, to double the peninsula by standing 

 offshore from Corcyrus, then between Scylla and Charybdis, to reach 

 the Gulf of Naples, the native haunt of Polyphemus. But Ulysses 

 had already made the experiment : the sea can be unfriendly in these 

 latitudes. 



We gave up the idea of maritime transport. 



The dimensions of the float made the use of the railway out of the 

 question. There remained the road. 



We looked some time for a company which had the means at its 

 disposal and would give the desired guarantees. One day, driving 

 about the streets of Milan in our car, my son and I suddenly saw in 

 front of us a giant transformer on a trailer, being towed by a powerful 

 lorry. We passed it, we let it pass us ; we did this several times. Stowage 

 and packing of the transformer, everything inspired us with con- 

 fidence. We took note of the name of the firm, 'Pejrani, Turin'. An 

 exchange of letters followed, then a trip to Turin : however expensive 

 and diflicult the job, Pejrani said they would not treat this as a business 

 transaction, since it was a question of scientific research. If we paid for 

 the petrol and the police tax, Pejrani would charge it to overhead 

 expenses. We here wish to thank this firm for their very valuable 

 assistance. 



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