40 years of ARC: Tapio Lehtinen and his Swan 55 "Galiana" - the golden oldies
Lehtinen made headlines in mid-November 2022. During the Golden Globe Race (GGR) at the time, the yacht of the now 67-year-old Finn "Asteria", a Gaia 36, sank in the southern Indian Ocean. Lehtinen made it to the life raft and was rescued shortly afterwards by none other than Kirsten Neuschäfer. YACHT reported on this at the time (click here for the report).
Lehtinen returned to Finland to work on a Swan built in 1970, which he bought in 2019. His "Galiana" is a 55 with a yawl rig. He then took part in the Ocean Globe Race in 2023, a race around the world to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Round the World Race. His Swan was the oldest boat in the fleet of participants, which consisted mainly of GRP classics. He had brought young sailors on board for the OGR.
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He is now doing something similar for the ARC, in which the Finn is taking part for the first time. Only half of his crew consists of charter guests who pay for the passage. He has made the other berths on board available to young sailors. It is his payback for all the decades in which he has been able to live his sailing dream, says Lehtinen. "I want to pass on some of my experience and knowledge that I have been able to accumulate during my time at sea and working on my boats."
I want to pass on my knowledge to the next generation of sailors"
And, of course, he is also learning a lot from Generation Z. "For example, a lot of things to do with modern, digital communication," says Lehtinen. "You can't do without it these days." He himself is also active on the internet with presentations and documentation on websites, social networks and YouTube.
There's only one thing he doesn't agree with the younger generation on. "After the round-the-world regatta, my lifelong need for techno music was more than satisfied. I don't get it on board any more!" he says with a laugh.
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For the Finn, his penchant for old yachts has to do with comfort. "With classic seaworthy yachts, you can sail pleasantly even in a storm and live comfortably below deck. In contrast, today's racing yachts are real hellish machines, often black carbon caverns with deafening noise below deck, even when the weather and the sea are basically calm."
Today's racing yachts with their carbon fibre hulls are truly infernal machines!"
However, a second, perhaps more important point for Lehtinen is another: "Preserving old boats and sailing them is also a kind of sustainable use of existing resources. There are so many boats that are getting on in years, but could be sailed for many more years with a bit of work. So why always buy new ones?"
This was also the case with his "Galiana". He initially gave the Swan, which was designed by Sparkman & Stephens, a total refit. The effort was worth it. In the Las Palmas marina, the ship is in immaculate condition.
But why is such an experienced sailor taking part in the ARC at all? "Not to learn a lot in the seminars. But they are definitely good for my young sailors on board. They can learn a lot from all the weather, navigation and safety experts hired by the organisers," explains Lehtinen. He himself enjoys the socialising with the many different crews much more. "You meet so many different and interesting people here, it's just great!"
Being able to meet so many different and interesting people is the reason for me to sail on the ARC."
Throwing himself into the company of others is not at all like the Finn. After all, he is first and foremost a passionate single-handed sailor. "I enjoy devouring one book after another on long ocean passages. There's plenty of time to tackle long tomes of world literature," he reports.
He also has plenty of time at sea to simply watch the sea, the sky and the clouds. "And in the past, the animals too. Whales, defins, albatrosses, other seabirds. But I haven't come across them on my most recent trips."
If we don't act today, it may soon be too late forever!"
That is why he is now also driven by the fight against pollution of the oceans and thus the destruction of the habitat of marine fauna and flora. Tapio Lehtinen: "I initiate projects to draw attention to the environmental problem and to look for solutions. If we do nothing today, it may soon be too late forever. Info: tapiolehtinensailing.fi
