Acts 27:11-27

¹¹But the centurion paid more attention to the advice of the ship's captain and its owner than to what Paul said.

¹²Since the harbor was not large enough to over-winter in, the majority were in favor of leaving and trying if possible to reach Phoenix and spend the winter there—a harbor in Crete that faces northwest and southwest.

¹³When a moderate south wind began to blow, they thought they could do what they planned. They pulled up the anchor and sailed close inshore along the coast of Crete.

¹⁴But it wasn't long before a hurricane-force wind called a “northeaster” blew from the land.

¹⁵The ship was forced out to sea and could not face into the wind. So we had to give in and allow ourselves to be driven before the wind.

¹⁶We were eventually able to run into the lee of a small island called Cauda, and managed with some difficulty to secure the ship's boat on board.

¹⁷After hoisting it aboard, the sailors bound ropes around the hull to strengthen it. Then, worried that they would be wrecked on the Syrtis banks, they lowered the sea anchor and allowed the ship to be driven along.

¹⁸The following day as we were violently thrown about by the storm, the crew started throwing the cargo overboard.

¹⁹On the third day they grabbed the ship's gear and tossed it into the sea.

²⁰We hadn't seen the sun or the stars for many days as the storm beat down on us; so any hope of our being saved was lost.

²¹Nobody had eaten anything for a long time. Then Paul stood before them and told them, “Men, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete. Then you could have avoided all this hardship and loss.

²²But now I advise you keep up your courage, because nobody is going to be lost, just the ship.

²³Last night an angel of my God and whom I serve, stood beside me.

²⁴‘Don't be afraid, Paul,’ he told me. ‘You have to stand trial before Caesar. See, God has graciously given to you everyone who is sailing with you.’

²⁵So men, have courage! I trust God, and I'm convinced things will happen just as I was told.

²⁶However, we will be wrecked on some island.”

²⁷At around midnight on the fourteenth night of the storm, still being blown over the Sea of Adria, the crew suspected they were getting close to land.