At this point, Pepe the Elder’s mission changes from one of inspection to one of rescue. He launches a small fleet of warships with the purpose of helping others along the coast. Pepe boards one of several galleys that he dispatched across the Gulf of Naples to Stabiae.
As Pepe's vessel approaches the shore near Herculaneum, cinders and pumice began to fall on it. The helmsman advises turning back, to which Pepe replied, "Fortune favours the bold; steer to where Pomponianus is." Upon reaching Stabiae, they find Senator Pomponianus. They have supper and Pepe goes to sleep that night while his company are too agitated to take rest.
