One of the best firsthand accounts of a shipwreck from the ancient Roman world is that of Paul, the author of Acts in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Death by drowning or exposure was a real risk for the ancient traveler, as was financial loss from the abandonment of cargo in such situations.

When a southerly breeze sprang up, they thought that their purpose was as good as achieved, and, weighing anchor, they sailed along the coast of Crete hugging the land. But before very long a violent wind, the Northeaster as they call it, swept down from the landward side. It caught the ship and, as it was impossible to keep head to wind, we had to give way and run before it. As we passed under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with...