Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 27:4

"And putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary." — Acts 27:4 (ASV)

From Sidon, the boat sailed northwest toward Cyprus, staying close to the long east coast of the island because of the westerly winds that blow from spring through fall on the eastern Mediterranean. Two and one half years earlier Paul and his companions had sailed with that westerly wind from Patara to Tyre and had passed Cyprus on the south . Now, however, their voyage was considerably slower as their boat had to run against the winds, and they tried to stay in the lee of sheltering land masses. Crossing the open sea between Cyprus and Cilicia, the vessel worked its way westward to Myra in Lycia, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor, helped along by local land breezes and a westward current that runs along that coast.