Zonaras wrote that Pyrrhus did not even wait for the spring to cross the sea to reach Italy (the Mediterranean Sea is stormy in the winter). He was caught in a storm. He lost many men and the rest was scattered by the sea. He reached Tarentum overland with difficulty. Plutarch wrote that after many ships were sent from Tarentum, 20,000 infantry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, 3,000 cavalry, and twenty elephants were embarked. When the fleet was caught in the storm some ships missed Italy and ended up in the seas of Sicily and Africa. Others were swept to other shores and were destroyed. Pyrrhus threw himself into the sea and managed to reach the coast. He was helped by the Messapii. Some of the ships survived the storm. Only 2,000 infantry, a few cavalry and two elephants reached Italy.