With their bus out of service, teachers hire a fishing boat and a dinghy to get to school

Faced with the breakdown of the ferry that was due to take them from Procida to Ischia, and to avoid delaying crucial end-of-term deadlines, twelve teachers did not lose heart: they hired a fishing boat and a dinghy to reach the island, ensuring they were not late for their marking sessions and school council meetings ahead of the exams.

The incident began in Marina Grande, Procida’s commercial port, where the twelve teachers were waiting, as usual, for the ferry from Naples, which was due to stop at the smallest of the Neapolitan islands before setting off again at 7.15 am for Ischia. However, the ferry never arrived due to a technical fault. Upon hearing the news, the teachers realised that the next crossing, the 9.10 am hydrofoil to Casamicciola, would get them there too late. So they decided to solve the problem by hiring two private boats to cover the four nautical miles separating the two islands.

And so, after a flurry of phone calls, six of them managed to find a traditional fishing boat that set off from Marina Grande, whilst another six hired a dinghy which, for ten euros each, took them to Ischia, departing from the small harbour at Chiaiolella, on the other side of Procida. The sea conditions were good and the crossing went smoothly.

In the end, the teachers managed to arrive at the schools on Ischia with only a slight delay, including Scotti Middle School and the Telese Hotel Management School, where the end-of-year procedures went ahead as planned. “We realised there was no possibility of rescheduling the exams, as their dates and times were practically fixed ,” Agostino Lampo, one of the teachers who arrived by dinghy, explained to ANSA, “and we did what we could to safeguard the students and ensure the continuity of their education.” Usually, around 150 commuters travel by sea from Procida to Ischia every day: many are teachers, but there are also several employees working in the numerous public bodies based on the ‘green island’.

Vanna Palladino, a teacher and representative of Procida’s commuters, complains: “For more than two years now, maritime transport in the Gulf of Naples has been in a state of crisis. We have asked the mayors of the islands to address the issue at a technical meeting to be organised with the Regional Government. We hope that the new regional administration will listen to our requests, because the situation is no longer sustainable and this morning’s incident proves it.” The teachers’ journey by dinghy is currently attracting widespread media attention and garnering praise from many, particularly on social media.