Alan Paris is one stop away from becoming the first Bermudian to solo-circumnavigate the world.

He concluded the fourth and penultimate leg of the Around Alone boat race on Saturday morning and now must just complete the last stretch of the journey between Brazil and the USA to achieve this feat.

That final leg starts on April 13, with skippers heading back to Newport, Rhode Island where they began last September.

Paris sailed into Salvador, Brazil, around 8.40 a.m. Bermuda time to take fourth place in Leg 4.

He was wet, weary and ready for a bit of time on dry land after some trying last few miles which saw winds go from calm to almost gale force.

"It was a bit wet," Paris said with characteristic understatement.

"But the good news was that I got my own private wind shift that allowed me to make course without having to gybe, so that was really nice."

It is just under seven weeks since he and BTC Velocity left New Zealand and headed back into the Southern Ocean on the race's longest and toughest leg.

Bracing for another sleighride across the bottom of the world, Paris found the sailing mostly pleasant until Cape Horn when conditions turned gnarly.

Paris, who on March 7 became the first Bermudian to round the infamous Cape single-handedly, suffered damage to his mast during the fourth leg but made it through.

When BTC Velocity crossed the line the first thing the Bermudian did was to give the mast a massive hug. Landlubbers might wonder about that kind of behaviour, but sailors know it well.

Leg Four was one known for carnage and Paris was happy to not be a victim.

"I could not afford to lose my mast," he said. "I kept a reef in the main(sail) and never put pressure on the mast at all. I had to make it to Brazil."

There's not much, he noted, to be done in preparation for the final leg.

"The new rigging should be in Brazil by now, I just hope I get it cleared through customs. I have to put my radar back up again after I took it down when I saw it hanging by a single screw.

"Other than that BTCVelocity is in good shape and ready for the last leg to Newport.

"I even managed to fill my fresh water tanks during the rain last night so I don't have to worry about the local drinking water."