The Voyage Encounters a Great Storm

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When a gentle southerly breeze began to blow, they thought that they had their goal within grasp; so they raised the anchor and started coasting by Crete close to shore.

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But before long there struck us from land a full gale from the northeast, the kind they call an Evrakilon.

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The ship was caught up and unable to face the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along.

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As we passed into the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with strenuous effort to get control of the lifeboat.

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They hoisted it aboard, then fastened cables tightly around the ship itself to reinforce it. Fearing they might run aground on the Syrtis sandbars, they lowered the topsails and thus continued drifting.

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But because we were fighting such heavy weather, the next day they began to jettison non-essentials;

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and the third day, they threw the ship’s sailing equipment overboard with their own hands.

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For many days neither the sun nor the stars appeared, while the storm continued to rage, until gradually all hope of survival vanished.

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