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But to resume.
"And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their
purpose, loosing thence they sailed close by Crete" (27: 13).
From Fair Havens to Cape Matala was but four of five miles, so that with a gentle
southerly wind the cape would be weathered, and the thirty-five miles from that point
easily covered. It is possible that fair weather sails were set, and we know from verse 16
that a boat was in tow, so with hearts lightened and a good prospect before them the ship
once more set sail.
How often in life does not that "south wind blow softly", over-riding the severer
counsels of grace and truth. Alas! the gentle breathing of the south wind in the sails and
cordage was but a siren song, for scarcely had they passed the cape than a typhoon burst
upon them. The word tuphonikos describes the circular whirling of the clouds caused by
the meeting of the S. and the E.N.E. winds. Both Pardy's "Sailing Directory" and
Smith's "Voyage and Shipwreck", say that this is exactly what might have been
expected. The ancient name for this wind is "The Euroclydon", and the modern name is
"The Levanter". This awful wind "seized" the ship in its grasp so that the helmsman
could not "look at the wind". The suddenness of the storm allowed no time to furl the
mainsail, a circumstance which left them no alternative but to scud before the gale.
The island of Clauda lies twenty miles S.W. of Cape Matala, and the fact that the wind
drove the vessel towards that island, made the sailors fear lest it should drive them into
Syrtis, the quicksands which are off the African coast at this point. Though temporarily
protected by the shelter of the island of Clauda, they had "much work to come by the
boat", which, however, was eventually hauled aboard, when more serious operations
were demanded.
"They used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the
quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven" (27: 17).
Note the use of "we" and "they". Luke lent a hand in hauling in the boat, but the
operation called "undergirding" was no work for a landsman to attempt.
The ships of the ancients possessed one large mast and one large sail, with the
addition of a few topsails and a small auxiliary mast. It will readily be seen that with
such a mast and sail bearing the full force of the wind, a tremendous strain would be
thrown upon the ship. Virgil, who describes the loss of ships by various means, says, "all
with fastenings loosened". Consequently, a ship "thoroughly furnished" carried tackle
called "Undergirders", which consisted of strong ropes for passing around the hull of the
ship to prevent the starting of its timbers. In more recent times this method was called
"Frapping", which Falconer's Marine Dictionary thus describes:
"To frap a ship is to pass four or five turns of a large cable-laid rope round the hull or
frame of a ship."