Bermudian Alan Paris was one of at least six sailors in the Around Alone Race who yesterday decided to seek shelter in Spain from an oncoming storm.

All six Class Two boats in the event headed for port as news broke of a building weather system off Portugal's east coast.

Paris and two others were planning to dock in La Coruna on Spain's northwest coast. But all seven vessels in Class One were intent on continuing.

In an e-mail to The Royal Gazette, Paris said that beginning early Saturday morning and moving into Sunday a deep low pressure would affect the area.

"On Sunday morning the wind will clock to the WSW at 60 to 80 knots depending on how close you are to the Portuguese coast. There are even a few areas showing 90 knots. This will last for about 12 to 16 hours. This means that, at best, you have to go across the wind to the south. However, I doubt BTC Velocity or any other vessel will make any way into these winds.

"This is not your average gale, like the one we had last night (Wednesday night) that gusted to 40 knots from the SE followed by an abrupt 35 NW change in the English Channel with quite horrible seas. This is worse, much worse," said Paris who left Torbay, England, on the second leg of the race on Monday.

Meanwhile, a press release from race organisers said that while "heading for safe harbour runs counter to every intuition" it was understandable since skippers are "human" and "with the prospect of placing yourself and your boat squarely in danger it suddenly becomes much easier to seek refuge".

Sailors, it noted, must weigh the options.

The release also indicated that interrupting a leg can be costly in terms of time as well as distance lost.

"Each skipper will receive a 48-hour penalty added to their elapsed time for the leg. The clock will also continue to run for the time that they are in port, so not only are they not making progress towards the finish, (but) they will have to add the penalty and the time it took to make the diversion, to their leg," continued the statement.

Indicating safety is his priority, Paris said: "In life we all make decisions that are important, some more than others. I see no other course than the relative safety for my yacht in a harbour, riding out the storm, but having me on dry land. The potential of 90 knots at sea is downright life threatening.

"I hope all other skippers will make similar decisions and when the storm is past we can get on with the task of racing to Cape Town (South Africa)."