But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land.
They fled a mere inconvenience and ran straight into mischief, as we often do. The harbor was bleak in winter, yes, but better to be safe in an uncomfortable haven than lost in a tempestuous sea. God's wisdom provided both the waters to sail on and the natural harbors to shelter in.
AI summary
Commenting on Acts 27:12-20
But not long after,.... They had not been long at sea, but there arose against it; the ship, or the island of Crete, or both: a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon; in the Greek text it is a "Typhonic" wind, so called, not from the name of a country from whence it blew; rather from Typho, the same with Python, an Heathen deity, who is said...
Verse 14. Arose. Beat violently. Against it. Against the island of Crete. A tempestuous wind. Turbulent, violent, strong. Called Euroclydon. Interpreters have been much perplexed about the meaning of this word, which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The most probable supposition is, that it denotes a wind not blowing steadily from any quarter, but a hurricane, or wind veering about to different quarters.