All 6 Around Alone skippers in Class 2 over the course of the last 24hrs have decided to divert to Northern Spain in a seemingly communal act of seamanship as a deepening low pressure system threatens to trap them against the lee shore of Portugal, bringing high winds on the nose and nasty seas with it. When the skippers were first looking at the possibility of this system developing in the Race briefing it was French veteran circumnavigator Thierry Dubois who made the incisive comment : "I will be a seaman for the first days and then I will race".

Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal, Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada, John Dennis on Bayer Ascensia, Alan Paris on BTC Velocity and Kojiro Shiraishi on Spirit of yukoh have all decided to seek shelter in Northern Spain, but are still considering either La Coruna or Vigo as the two options. Brad van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America took his decision to head for Vigo after suffering damage to his 3rd reefing system. "My decision has been very difficult because of my competitive fire, but it would be dangerous to risk sailing through this weather with a 3rd reef system that sustained damage during the last storm. I have rigged a temporary replacement that I am not entirely comfortable with given the very serious nature of the weather. It would be a foolhardy display of bad seamanship if I were to continue without the quick stop necessary to meet with my shore support team to help me replace the 3rd reef."

It is a different scenario for the two classes, as Sir Robin Knox-Johnston explains : "It is a simple fact of speed between the classes. The 60’s have the chance to get south and away from the system, or even try to go over the top, the smaller ones would not make it given their current positions and would end up closer to the centre and the stronger winds. If the Class 2 boats continue they could find themselves exposed on the Portuguese coast with storm force winds blowing them towards the shore and very few opportunities for shelter. If they get further offshore they will get closer to the centre of the system, which, as it moves east and the wind changes direction, will create very large and confused seas."

There are likely to be some comments from the sailing public regarding why yachts that are designed to race around the world are deciding to seek shelter from an approaching weather system. If the yachts were sailing in the Southern Ocean, the option of seeking shelter would not be available, and in that light the skipper would have no option other than to keep on sailing. The benefit of being in the Southern Ocean is that there would be plenty of sea room, and as any seasoned mariner will tell you, sea room in a storm is key. It’s when you are presented with land, and furthermore a lee shore, that it becomes potentially treacherous. In this storm the sailors will not have ample room to run from the weather. The continent of Europe will be right in their way and with that as a given, stopping starts to make more sense.

Racing Rules - Penalties for stopping or receiving assistance

Each skipper who receives outside assistance will receive a 48-hour penalty added to their elapsed time for the leg and the clock also continues to run. There is also the question of using their engine to motor into the harbor. If a skipper chooses to motor they must note on a declaration the exact location at which they turned their engines on, and if possible record Record #sailingrecord the location either visually by filming a landmark, or by filming the date, time and position on their GPS. It is at this point the 48 hr time penalty is applied, but when they leave they will have to return to that exact spot where the engine seal was broken to continue racing and again record Record #sailingrecord the time and place, before shutting off the engine. The final piece of the puzzle is that the skippers will have to reseal their engines and send details of how this was accomplished back to the race organizers.

Weather Briefing

The low pressure weather system developing in the Atlantic is currently predicted to be in approx 42N 25W on Saturday at 0000 hours and the central pressure is predicted at 975 mb. This is a very large system, spreading over a wide swathe of the Atlantic Ocean and moving slowly east. Winds in excess of Gale Force will be experienced more than 800 miles from the centre.