Acts 27:17-19

Amplified Bible

¹⁷After hoisting the skiff [on board], they used ^[a]support lines [for frapping] to undergird and brace the ship’s hull; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis [off the north coast of Africa], they let down the ^[b]sea anchor and lowered the sails and were driven along [backwards with the bow into the wind]. ¹⁸On the next day, as we were being violently tossed about by the storm [and taking on water], they began to jettison the cargo; ¹⁹and on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle (spare lines, blocks, miscellaneous equipment) overboard with their own hands [to further reduce the weight].

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Footnotes

Acts 27:17 These were ropes that were tightly wrapped around (and sometimes under) the hull of an ancient ship to firm and strengthen it in heavy seas.
Acts 27:17 A sea anchor (para-anchor) is a sturdy fabric parachute set at the end of an anchor rode (designed for use with a rope/chain windlass) or other long line and sometimes weighted so it rides deep. A sea anchor is placed off the bow (front) so that the boat’s bow would be held into the wind while drifting or being blown downwind. One danger of this is that the rudder may be damaged and that is what happened later—the rudder was lost (see v 40). A drogue is set off the stern (back) when sailing downwind to slow the boat and provide more control. The sea anchor held the bow into the wind and slowed the drift. The Annapolis Book of Seamanship, Third Edition.