Acts 27:11

But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship, than to those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to put to sea from thence, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there; which is a haven of Crete, looking northeast and southeast.

The centurion ... appears in this passage as being in full command of the vessel, his authority being even greater than that of the ship's owner and the captain. This was probably due to the vessel's being a government chartered carrier in the wheat trade supplying the imperial city with grain. The captain and the owner gave the green light to proceed to Phoenix, a much more comfortable place to spend the winter; and, despite the fact of a general appeal for the opinion of the passengers, Paul's voice seems to have been about the only one raised against it.

The more part ... indicates that many participated in the discussions of whether or not to proceed. There comes into evidence here the fact that where the convenience of people is concerned, almost any danger will be risked by some in order to attain some more desirable or comfortable situation. The sailors, if wintered at Fair Havens, in all probability would have spent a sober and chaste sojourn, there having been very little chance of anything else!

Added to the desire to find what most of them considered a more "suitable place" to winter was the fact that Phoenix was only a few short hours away, lying northward around the great Cape Matala, which with the westerly winds could have been reached quickly enough, and which with a good south wind they could have reached in less than a day. Sure enough, they got the south wind!

Northeast and southeast ... The Greek words here are "down the southwest wind and down the northwest wind"; and scholars do not know what Luke meant by this (see English Revised Version (1885) margin). If it applies to the layout of the harbor, either expression could be correct, depending upon the viewpoint, whether that of one at sea or one in the city itself. We simply do not know.