They left Sidon but ran into strong headwinds making it difficult to keep the ship on course so they set a course which may have given them better traveling conditions. They landed at Myrna where the commanding officer found an Egyptian ship that was bound for Italy and put Paul and the others on board. They experienced several days of difficult sailing and got near to Cnidus but could not get there because the wind was against them. They sailed on with great difficulty, finally landing at Fair Havens. They had already lost a lot of time taking them further into bad sailing season. The weather was already becoming harsh and sailing was dangerous. Paul spoke to the ship's officers about their situation.
Paul told them he believed they would be in great trouble if they sailed on. They would experience shipwreck, loss of cargo and danger to their lives if they kept going. However, the officers took the word of the owner of the ship and the captain rather than Paul. Fair Havens was a harbor that was exposed to the weather making it a poor place to spend the winter so they decided to move on to Phoenix and spend the winter there. Phoenix was a good place to spend the winter and would serve them well.
There was a light wind and the sailors thought they could make it but the wind was strong enough to prevent them from entering the harbor and they had to let the ship run ahead of the wind. They sailed on and tried many things to keep them safe. The next day gale force winds came upon them and they began throwing things overboard to stay afloat. The storm raged for many days and was so dark and severe it blotted out the sun and the stars. They had all lost any hope of surviving the storm, in fact they had not eaten for a very long time.
Paul told them they should have listened to him earlier and if they had they would have avoided losing all the cargo they were carrying and would not have seen damage to the ship. Paul told them to take courage that none of them would lose their lives even though the ship will sink. Paul said, "Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, "Don't be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What's more, God in His goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you." So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as He said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island."
Around midnight on the 14th night of the storm they were being driven across the sea of Adria. The sailors sensed land was near and dropped a line to measure the depth of the water. First it was 120 feet deep then quickly it dropped to only 90 feet deep and they were afraid they would be driven into the rocks along the shore. To avoid that, they threw anchors off the back of the ship and prayed for daylight. Their next plan was to abandon ship but Paul spoke up and told them they would surely die if they did not stay on board. As it became dawn Paul encouraged everyone to eat for they had not eaten for two weeks. Paul took bread, gave thanks to God, broke off a piece and ate it. Then all on board began to eat. There were 276 there.
After they had eaten the crew lightened the ship as best they could by throwing the cargo of wheat overboard. Morning broke but they could not recognize where they were. They did see a little beach and wondered if they could make it there by running the ship aground. So they cut off the anchors, lowered the rudders and raised the foresail and headed toward the beach. They ran aground before getting there and the waves pounded the ship breaking it apart. The soldiers want to kill all the prisoners so none would escape but the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul so he did not allow any to be killed. The commanding officer then ordered all to jump overboard and swim to shore. Some swan while others held onto broken parts of the ship and were pushed to shore by the waves. Everyone made it alive just as God had promised.