Bible Locations

Cauda is a small island about 23 miles (37 km) south of Crete, now called Gavdos, the southernmost point of Europe. It appears in Acts 27:16, during Paul's voyage to Rome. After leaving Fair Havens on Crete, the ship was caught by a violent northeast wind called the "Northeaster" and driven helplessly out to sea. "As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure." In the shelter of the island, the sailors hauled up the ship's boat, which was being towed, and passed ropes under the ship to hold it together. Fearing they would run onto the sandbars of Syrtis, off North Africa, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship drift. Cauda is a small, rocky island with few people. Today only a few dozen residents live there year-round.