27:13 With a light wind blowing from the south, they had high hopes of reaching the more desirable anchorage of Phoenix some forty miles to the west. At first all went well, though Luke gives the impression that rounding Cape Matala was achieved only after some anxious moments. The emphatic way in which he introduces the statement that they sailed “closer” (than was desirable) along the coast of Crete implies that their ability to weather the point was for a time in doubt.

27:14–15 But then, as they were crossing the open waters of the gulf of Messara, between Cape Matala and Phoenix, the wind suddenly swung round. A wind of hurricane force (Gk. typhonikos, cf. our “typhoon”)—called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island—a graphic description of a common experience in Cretan water…