I - 40 : Saint Paul's Perfect Storm

Medicane (Mediterranean Hurricane) Zorbas reaching the Peloponnese on 29 Sept 2018 - the Medicane was about 150 sea miles wide

In exactly 40 days, we will set foot on the MYRA. We will continue a journey a Roman grain freighter took almost 2’000 years ago with 276 passengers on board. The route was Crete to Rome. The most famous passenger was Apostle Paul, a Roman prisoner who was due for trial by Emperor Claudius. According to Acts 27:13 – 44, the cargo ship sailed into a violent storm off Crete’s coast and eventually shipwrecked in Malta. The storm lasted full 14 days. Using Saint Paul’s travel time from Caesarea as a base, the ship must have left Crete during the first week of October. The Mediterranean Sea is well known for its heavy storms in fall.

A Portrait of Apostle Paul from the Papal Lateran Palace

We do not have weather data from 2’000 years ago. Modern meteorology is only 150 years old. But since 1980 we have detailed satellite data and begin to understand weather pattern. In the Mediterranean, storms are most frequent during September and October with 19 and 18 respectively (based on 40 years of data). Given this high number, it is well possible that Saint Paul was hit by two storms in a row when on sea.

The Mediterranean cyclones (Medicanes) are 4 to 5 times smaller than the hurricanes and typhoons of the Caribbean or the Philippine Sea. The lower water temperature and the nearby land limit their size. They are usually 40 to 100 miles (70 – 200 km) wide, reach windspeeds of 50 to 80 mph (90 – 140 km/h), bring high levels of precipitation and travel west to east at a speed of 15 – 40 mph. A Mediterranean storm takes 3 days to cross a fixed point. With one day of wind and high waves on each side, you get 5 stormy days.

Migration of 8 Medicanes through the Mediterranean

We know from the amazingly precise Acts (click here for full text) that winds were strong on the first day. The seasoned sailors however were able to trim the sails, pull the life boat on board and reinforce the ship’s stability with ropes wrapped around the hull. They also dropped sea anchors to avoid drifting too far south and hitting the North African shores . On the 2nd  day, the storm got worse. The ship took heavy water from sea and rain. The mariners threw cargo over board to lighten it. They used leather buckets to remove water from the bilge. It must have been a back-breaking, never ending 24-hours job. Bilge pumps did not exist during Roman time. They were invented centuries later. The storm did not improve on the 3rd day either. The sailors also had to dump ship equipment. All the while, its 276 passengers huddled on deck – wet, frightened, hungry. There were no passenger cabins on a Roman cargo ship. Everybody was on deck.

A Medicane seen from Greek Shores - the Amount of Rain they drop is amazing

Little is written about the following days except that the mariners could neither see the sun nor the stars. But after four days, cloud cover usually brakes. Roman mariners were skilled navigators using the position of the sun, the moon and the stars. Even without maps and compass, they could plot a course.  They knew from experience that – with steady wind - sailing in a west-north-westerly direction for five days would get them to the shores of Sicily or Calabria. I guess that is what they did after four days on the open sea. The fore and main sail were still useable and enabled them to cross the wind when necessary.

Pretty accurate Depiction of Saint Paul's 14 Days Storm - the Ship was definitely blown at least 100 sea miles to the South before sailing back west-north-west

After 14 days on sea, the sailors noticed a change in wave pattern. The storm induced long rollers gave way to slower, shorter and higher waves with their typical crest. The sailors concluded that land must be near. And right they were. The sea was calm enough to allow the use of a depth gauge. The water was only 40 meters deep. They had reached the continental shelf – until the ice age Malta was linked to Sicily by a land bridge. Having drifted south during the storm, they missed Sicily by 90 sea miles (165 km) but their direction was correct.

Saint Paul's Ship was twice the size of this AI created Replica of a Roman Cargo Ship

Within hours the mariners spotted land and decided to make their landfall on a sandy beach. Now that their cargo was gone, there was no need to look for a port. The safety of the paying passengers and the prominent prisoner was more important. Landing on a beach was common in antiquity. The boats were light and could be hauled on shore for the night.

Saint Paul's Island, the "official" Shipwreck Site with a Statue of the Apostle

Not knowing the bay though where they had arrived, the mariners hit a hidden sandbank. The ship got stuck. The Commanding Centurion instructed everybody who could swim to swim to shore. The others to grab a plank or another supportive item and float to the shore. Everybody made it, nobody drowned. As Saint Paul had predicted from the very start. He knew that God would protect them and encouraged everybody with his firm believe. The ship though was totally lost. With the bow stuck in the sandbank, the rear got smashed by the relentless waves. Tradition wants the accident to have happened at St Paul's Bay in the north of Malta. A recent discovery of 4 Roman anchor stones at St Thomas puts a question mark on this theory. Saint Paul's ship may well have run into the Munxar reef on the south-eastern side of the island.

The Munxar Reef on Saint Thomas Bay stretches far out into the Mediterranean

For the next three months, Saint Paul stayed on Malta. There were no boats coming to the island during these stormy winter months. He used the time to convert many islanders to Christianity. His departure from the island on 10th of February is still commemorated by the Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck. It is the biggest religious festival in Malta.

Never before have I looked in such details into “Saint Paul’s Storm”. But I must admit that the story adds up. Too many details are factual. This can’t be fiction. I know many people who think the Bible is just a book of tales – the story of Saint Paul proves otherwise.

Every Year, on 10 February, the Founder of the Maltese Church is commemorated with the Fest of the Shipwreck.