27 ¹ WHEN IT WAS DECIDED that we should sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan Cohort. 27 ² We embarked in a ship of Adramyttium, bound for ports in the province of Asia, and put out to sea. In our party was Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 27 ³ Next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius very considerately allowed Paul to go to his friends to be cared for. 27 ⁴ Leaving Sidon we sailed under the lee of Cyprus because of the head-winds, 27 ⁵ then across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, and so reached Myra in Lycia.
27 ⁶ There the centurion found an Alexandrian vessel bound for Italy and put us aboard. 27 ⁷ For a good many days we made little headway, and we were hard put to it to reach Cnidus. Then, as the wind continued against us, off Salmone we began to sail under the lee of Crete, 27 ⁸ and, hugging the coast, struggled on to a place called Fair Havens, not far from the town of Lasea.

27 ⁹ By now much time had been lost, the Fast was already over, and it was risky to go on with the voyage. 27 ¹⁰ Paul therefore gave them this advice: 'I can see, gentlemen,' he said, 'that this voyage will be disastrous: it will mean grave loss, loss not only of ship and cargo but also of life.' 27 ¹¹ But the centurion paid more attention to the captain and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said; 27 ¹² and as the harbour was unsuitable for wintering, the majority were in favour of putting out to sea, hoping, if they could get so far, to winter at Phoenix, a Cretan harbour exposed south-west and north-west.