Golden Globe Race: Kirsten Neuschäfer rescues Tapio Lehtinen from distress at sea

The 64-year-old Lehtinen had activated the epirb of his Gaia 36 "Asteria" 460 nautical miles south-east of Cape Town on Friday morning, as reported by the race organisers. Shortly afterwards, the PLB's distress signal from his life raft and the YB3 satellite tracker from the obligatory Grab Bag were added - all indicators that he had to abandon ship.

MRCC Cape Town took over the rescue coordination and contacted two ships in the area. One of these was the bulk carrier "Darya Gayatri" about 250 nautical miles away. Two skippers in the Golden Globe Race were much closer at the time. Kirsten Neuschäfer was sailing at a distance of only 105 nautical miles, Tomy Abhilash at around 170, and both changed course in the direction of their competitor's transmitted position.

The emergency bag that all Golden Globe skippers must carry includes a GPS, a SAR transponder, a second Epirb and a handheld radio. Lehtinen's position could therefore be located and he was able to send a message to the race organisers that he had seen his ship sink from the life raft. The exact cause is not yet known.

At the time, there was a wave of around two and a half metres and a light wind at his position. Although strict rules apply in the Golden Globe Race and the skippers sail without navigation electronics, everything is on board in case of an emergency - a satellite phone anyway. After consultation with the race organisers, Kirsten Neuschäfer broke the seal on the GPS device and set a direct course for Lehtinen's position in the life raft. According to GGR information, there was constant contact between MRCC Cape Town, a crisis team from the organiser, Kirsten Neuschäfer and Tapio Lehtinen.

At around five o'clock UTC, the only skipper of the regatta reached the approximate position in around 20 knots of wind and two to three metres of swell. However, she struggled to find Lehtinen in the island. With the help of the GGR team from afar, she finally succeeded.

A good three hours later, the all-clear was given: the 39-year-old experienced deep-sea sailor had managed to take Tapio Lehtinen from the life raft on board her Gape George 36. She finally set course for the "Darya Gayatri", where Lehtinen was able to climb on board using a rescue ladder.

Kirsten Neuschäfer then reported on the past few hours:

"I'm full of adrenaline now, I've been steering all night and it's quite a thing to manoeuvre so close to a ship, but we're all fine. He was on board, we had a rum together (...). Congratulations for this rescue operation are not necessary, everyone would do the same for another sailor, thanks for the coordination."

Tapio Lehtinen was sailing in second position when his ship sank. He was one of the favourites and is an experienced circumnavigator. He finished the Golden Globe Race four years ago in fifth place. Now he is on his way to China with the cargo ship - the Golden Globe Race 2022 ends for him with good luck in misfortune.

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