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You might know the story in the book, about a shipwreck and the preacher whose name was Paul. That story was documented by a doctor who was travelling with us on the ship. As someone who was there, I can attest that his narration was true, but some details were omitted, like the time we could not find the captain and secretly went looking for him. The doctor was likely busy attending to the injured and did not notice the search party. I will share the whole story with you. Including the parts that were left out.

My name is Gaius, a legionary working under the leadership of Julius. I was among the team assigned to take Paul from Caesarea to Rome.

It was around 60 AD. It was a bright morning, unlike the previous days, which rained and stormed wildly. The captain had just come out of a seer's den, wearing a satisfied look on his face. That look was short-lived as Paul contradicted the prediction, stating that it was too risky to set sail at this period of the year.

Calling an emergency-meeting of his crew members and the ship owner. He said. "The seer has given us her blessing, but these men insist that we wait."
at once, a vote was called, and their trust in the seer's prediction of safe passage was evident in the result. Motivated solely by the profit he would make, the ship owner approved the movement.

At the order of the first mate, various commodities, such as grains, textiles, olive oil, and wine, were loaded in large amphorae. Julius oversaw the prisoners' boarding. In a single file, chained to each other at the ankles, it was slow with sounds of metals clinking, but Paul, however, was not chained because he was a Roman citizen.

Julius, myself, Paul, his physician Luke, three chained prisoners, the captain, first mate, and his assistant were on board when the ship departed. The journey started smoothly with clement weather for two days, but then a storm hit. 'How did you know?' I asked Paul. 'I've traveled these Mediterranean waters, and this isn't a good time of year for traveling,' he replied."

Steering the ship in this storm felt strange and unusually difficult. The oil, grains and wine in the hall of the ship are negatively responding to the waves, amplifying their effects. This is their first time with such large quantities of liquid cargo. It's been three days of tempestuous weather, and navigating by the sun or stars is impossible because it's pitch black and the ship is drifting.
The first mate shouts out to the captain. " We have been drifting for days. The waves keep lashing on the sheep with winds howling like a ghost speaking in the language of death. What should we do? I have exhausted my skills and the ship's hull is breaking apart ."

At this, Paul interrupted and said, " I had a revelation last night that none of you will lose his life; only the boat will be lost, so don’t be afraid."

I really wanted to believe him, and I could see the captain's feeling of guilt glowing like a halo around his head, wishing he had listened to him earlier.

While he was still speaking, a loud crash jolted me. I felt a mix of both fear and hope. We could not see what hit us, but it yanked everyone towards the ship's bow.

Tearing through the pitch darkness was a roar and electrifying bolt of lightning that illuminated the dark sky, with fractal branches all over the sky, casting an eerie glow over the turbulent sea. The scene lasted 2 to 3 seconds. I had never been that scared my whole life. Even in the heat of battle, I had never been so terrified. The lightning was shortly followed by a deafening rumbling thunder shaking the already battered ship.

"Did you see it?" The crew asked each other.
It was magnificent, but almost scared the life out of me,
I thought they were marveling at the lightning's power, but it dawned on me they were talking about land.
They were asking if we saw what appeared to be land.

As we waited for another lightning flash to confirm the land's proximity, the doctor tended to the injured, who had been thrown against objects when the boat lurched, we were all badly yanked around.

And here it came, another lightning with less intensity, and the captain gave the order
"All who can swim, jump into the sea first and swim ashore. And the rest of you can jump in after them, make sure you grab on to any pieces from the boat to float on ."

_^pixabay.com

My fear shifted to losing my prisoners. Should I unshackle them? Would they attempt to escape, or would they drown if I didn't? As I contemplated my situation, the boat sank slowly, a few feet at a time, heightening my desperation.

"We're on an island. There's no place to run to," I muttered as I pressed the key into the shackles' lock.

That night, it was confirmed that we all made it to the shore. With one missing - the captain. He was nicknamed the fish because he could swim. And paul confirmed that all would survive in his vision. But where is the captain.

A search party was organised for first light. One of the prisoners was a good tracker.
Julius addressed the search party, 'Find him, search for food, and see if you can get help from any local people.'

Following our tracker, a few hours into the search, we found him buried chest deep in quicksand, exhausted and clinging to dear life at the roots of a nearby tree. He was too weak to talk. We had to carry him. We later found out the island is called Malta. The local people came and offered a lot of help with shelter, blankets and food..

Invitation

I am inviting the following to participate: @okere-blessing, @esthyfashion @bossj23, @dequeen and @josepha

Media Credit

Composer	@manuelhooks
Graphics from	pixabay.com
Date	Wed. 23 April
	(@) 2025