From Crete to Malta

We have been “sailing Acts” for over a year now, but since leaving Israel in April, we have been sailing Acts 27 only, one chapter for the entire summer. But what a chapter it is! Vast distances, contrary winds, devious sailors, shipwreck, surprises and drama, this chapter is not only a fascinating account of Paul’s last recorded journey, it is one of the most descriptive sailing documents of the first century. We have read and reread Acts 27 continuously since April, amazed at the accuracy and detail of the terse descriptions.

We had decided, on our own journey from Caesarea to Rome, that we would deviate from the exact route Paul’s ship took when prudent and avoid reliving other details of the voyage. Because the prevailing winds in the summer are “on the nose” along the southern coast of Crete, we would sail along the northern coast. We would not spend 14 days, if we could help it, between Crete and Malta lost at sea. Sailors advised us, “don’t try to sail directly from Crete to Malta. You will be going directly into the wind the whole way. Sail north, up the Greek Peloponnesus then angle southwest towards Malta.” This is what we are doing right now. And of course, we will do our best to avoid the shipwreck on Malta. Some things do not have to be experienced in order to appreciate and admire those who have.

Crete, home of the famous Minoan civilization and probably of the Philistines that invaded Palestine, is Greek’s largest island, the most southerly, and in some ways the most beautiful. We were astounded, when at sea over 60 miles away, we could clearly see the 7,000 foot mountains rising in the distance. Later, driving our rental car across those mountains, searching for the harbor of Phoenix, we crept across some of the most precarious mountain roads we have ever been on anywhere. We spent time at “Fair Havens” and eventually found Loutro, the likely location of Phoenix. As on many other Greek islands, Paul is honored in Crete, in spite of the rather negative description he gave of Cretans in Titus 1:12.

Janet’s sister, Dorothy, who had sailed with us from Kos to Crete, stayed behind on Crete for several more days of vacation before flying back to her work at World Vision in Washington, D.C. When Janet and I left Khania for the two-day journey north to the southern tip of the Greek mainland, we realized that we were sailing alone for the first time since last fall. We have enjoyed all our guests, but it was good to be back to just the two of us sailing again. With our auto helm, “Timothy,” two is plenty of crew, relieving us of the long hours of steering.

Timothy, however, was aging. Only hours after leaving Crete, with some of the longest voyages ahead of us, he quit. No amount of coaxing, fiddling, or threatening helped, although we spent hours and exhausted every idea to revive the aged instrument. Finally I called Captain Steve, the former owner of SailingActs, for help and within hours he had tracked down the dealer for Auto Helm in Athens. “Give them a call,” he advised.

The following day, while sailing, I called the dealership in Athens on our cell phone. “Yes, we have a new unit in stock,” the pleasant woman assured me.

“How much would that be?” I asked.

“Let’s see, with tax a new control unit will be $4068 Euros.”

My heart sank. In US dollars that came to almost $5,000. That was too much, way too much for our budget. “Isn’t that a little too much?” I asked as if I would get some kind of satisfactory answer. The woman agreed but insisted this was the correct amount.

I called Captain Steve once more. “Call me back in 30 minutes,” he instructed.

When I called again he said the price was less than one tenth the amount the woman had quoted. We decided that when we reached Kalamata, I would take the four hour bus ride to Athens the next day and pick up a new one. The day I went to Athens was Friday. I purchased the new auto helm and was back to Kalamata by evening. How lucky, we told ourselves, that we were able to get the new auto helm before the long Pentecost weekend. The next day I installed the new unit, filled up with diesel, water and supplies for the 75 hour voyage to Malta. The weather forecast was ideal. We were ready!

The following morning was perfect and wind still, ideal for testing the new auto helm and making adjustments as the manual described, before continuing on toward Malta. We needed to steer the boat in large circles until the digital readout indicated the compass had adjusted itself to the boat. For the next 3 hours we circled, made adjustments and circled some more, but nothing happened and it finally conceded that the unit was defective. With heavy hearts we returned to Kalamata. Now what would we do?

We are to meet guests in Malta, Byron and Virginian Gingerich, and our son David and his fiancée, Rebekah in Sicily. We cannot leave until we get the unit replaced or repaired in Athens but the shop will only open Tuesday, for Monday is a holiday. At this point I am planning to do that tomorrow, June 21, catching the 6:15 a.m bus to Athens, get the new unit repaired, then return by bus to Kalamata. If everything goes well, and if the weather is right, we think we might be able to leave for Malta on Wednesday morning.

I reread Acts 27 again this morning, and realized that we were really experiencing, in a small way, Paul’s journey to Rome.

See photos from June 20

Posted on June 20, 2005 09:17 AM