In October 2019 Swan 55 Galiana was sailed to her new homeport in Helsinki, Finland from Southampton UK, skippered by legendary sailor Tapio Lehtinen who earlier the same year had completed the Golden Globe Race. In Finland Galiana will undergo some refitting and a lot of sailing in preparation for the 2023 Ocean Globe Race and plenty of adventures before that.

There weren’t many other yachts to be seen anywhere in the English Channel or the Baltic Sea this time of year, even though the conditions were perfect for some memorable sailing. With mostly steady winds, an autumn storm caught up with us just off the coast of Gotland, tearing our mainsail to pieces. Luckily we had plenty of sails onboard and were able to continue the voyage safely. Despite not being the most modern downwind machine, Galiana clocked a decent boat speed of 15knts surfing down a wave, leaving both skipper and crew smiling.

Having participated in the Whitbread Round The World Race in 1981, Lehtinen’s vision is to enter the OGR with a boat that is fit for the fight and a young crew eager to take on the challenge. The 1973 Swan 55 perfectly matches the requirements of the race which is organised under the original Whitbread rules.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfCmtFBmifk