Acts 27:1-13

When it was decided that we were to sail for Italy, Festus handed over Paul and a number of other prisoners to the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a member of the imperial guard. We went on board a ship from the port of Adramyttium that was planning to stop at various ports along the coast of southwestern Turkey. We put out to sea and were accompanied by Aristarchus from Thessalonica in Macedonia. The next day we docked at Sidon, and Julius, being considerate of Paul, allowed him to disembark and be refreshed by his friends living there. From there we put out to sea, but because the winds were against us, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus. After sailing across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we docked at the port of Myra in Lycia. While we were there, the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship from Alexandria that was bound for Italy, and he put us on board. We made little headway for several days, and with difficulty we made it to Knidus. The strong winds kept us from holding our course, so from there we sailed along the lee of Crete, opposite Cape Salome. Hugging the coast, we struggled on to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. We remained there a long time, until we passed the day of the Jewish fast. Paul advised the frightened sailors that they should not put out to sea in such dangerous weather, saying, “Men, I can see that our voyage would be disastrous for us and bring great loss, not only to our ship and cargo but also to our own lives. We should remain here.” But the officer in charge was persuaded more by the ship’s helmsman and captain than he was by Paul. So the majority decided to put out to sea, since Fair Haven was an exposed harbor and not suitable to winter in. They had hoped to somehow reach the Cretan port of Phineka, which was a more suitable port because it was facing south. When a gentle south breeze began to blow, they assumed they could make it, so they pulled up anchor and sailed close to Crete.