And when it was day they knew not the land,.... What place it was, or the name of it:
but they discovered a certain creek with a shore; a gulf or bay, with a shore near it; the Ethiopic version explains it,
an arm of the sea, where was a port, where they thought they could secure themselves, or get ashore:
into which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship; whither they had a mind, and consulted to run the ship, if it could be done by any means, believing it was the most likely method of saving themselves, and that; for notwithstanding the assurance they had that no man's life should be lost, they made use of all proper means for their safety and security.