Acts 27:16-17

The small island of Clauda (modern Gavdos or Gozzo) lay south of Crete about 23 miles. There appears to have been no adequate harbor there. However this island did provide enough temporary shelter for the sailors to haul the trailing rowboat (dinghy) on board. Another safety measure was to feed ropes over the bow and hold them up against the ship’s hull from each side. Drawn up tight under the ship these ropes helped to reinforce the internal braces of the hull.

The "shallows of Syrtis" probably refers to the dreaded quicksand and shoals off the African coast west of Cyrene (modern Libya) toward which the ship headed. [Note: See Pliny, Natural History, 5:26; and Josephus, The Jewish . . ., 2:16:4.] The Greek word translated "sea anchors" simply means equipment and can refer to any gear, perhaps some of the sails and rigging here (cf. Acts 27:40). Compasses did not exist at this time. Sailors plotted their courses by the stars and by using points of reference on land.