Tapio Lehtinen: Wiki, Bio, Age, Sailing, Height, Family, Golden Globe Race, Rescue

Who is Tapio Lehtinen: Wiki, Bio, Age, Sailing, Height, Family, Golden Globe Race, Birthday, Hometown, Children, Net Worth: Tapio Lehtinen is an Industrial Engineer, Single-handed Sailor of Finnish descent who participated in the Golden Globe Race of 2018. He sailed solo, without stops around the world, and was awarded the fifth position. This year he once again participated in the Race and started his journey on September 4th, 2022. However, yesterday, on November 18th he faced a crisis and called for rescue. His ship, Asteria sank in the ocean and he spent 24 hours on a lifeboat in the Southern India Ocean before he was rescued by fellow competitor Kirsten Neuschafer. Find out more about his Life, Wife, Family, stats, victories, early life, age, height, net worth, body measurements, Sailing Club, Golden Globe Race, Ship name, and more.

Tapio Lehtinen

Tapio Lehtinen Age, Birthday, Hometown, Zodiac

Tapio was born on 19th January 1958 and is currently 64 years old. As it appears he was born and brought up in Helsinki, Finland. Being born on 19th January, he belongs to the Zodiac Sign or Sun sign Capricorn.

Tapio Lehtinen, Family, Children, Wife

Tapio Lehtinen has been a sailor all his life. There is no information about who his parents were but we can guess that he might have had a sailing experience with one of his family members at an early age. He is married and has two children who are also Sailors. Though his wife’s name is not known, his two Children are Olympic sailor Lauri Lehtinen and Olympic medalist Silja Lehtinen. When he returned to shore he was greeted by his family and was seen hugging his wife and children.

Tapio Lehtinen Early Life

Tapio Lehtinen had a fascination for the sea from the very young age of 7. As a young boy, he used to sail Optimists, which are single-handed small dinghies, designed for young boys of less than 15 years. He also sailed with Laser, 470, and 29er dinghies. At the age of 23-24, he started sailing in the oceans and seas and has been an active sailor since.

Tapio Lehtinen Career

In his early 20s, he has already become an active sailor. He participated in a competition called, Whitbread Round The World Race. He was the officer in charge of a navigational watch, in his boat, called  “Skopbank of Finland”. The boat acquired 12th place in the race.

However, his performance in the competition earned him an invite from the Helsinki Sailing Society(HSS) locally known as Helsingfors Segelsällskap. As a member of the club, he began his racing career with his 6mR boat named “May Be IVwhich continued for 30 years. He participated in several competitions such as Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race, Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race, Azores and Back as well as the Newport Bermuda Race.

Later on, as his experience grew he served on the board of the Finnish Optimists Dinghy Association and thrice on the board of the Finnish 6mR Association. Later on, in order to improve the youth activities and financial condition of HSS he sought the position of commodore and served a few years in the role.

Tapio Lehtinen Golden Globe Race 2018

Tapio Lehtinen participated in the Golden Globe Race of 2018. a total of 18 sailors competed and only 5 finished, with Tapio being in the 5th position. This race was a celebration of 50 years of the original Golden Globe Race, and so the competitors were not allowed to use any new techniques which were not used in the actual Golden Globe Race.

The race began from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France from 1st July, 2018. The contestants were to make a round of the world and come back to their starting position while traveling in a Yacht solo. Tapio’s boat was called Astera which was designed in Italy and its type was S&S Gaia 36.

He faced several problems during the race and also had unfair treatment from the board of Authorities. His boat was plagued by Lepadidae, a sea species that fastened the bottom of his boat in the Indian Ocean such that he couldn’t move. He was not allowed to clear the bottom of the boat in order to remove the Lepadidaes because it was an introduced species in that part of the ocean but some of the other participants were allowed to do so. Moreover, the lepadidaes were able to stick to the bottom of his ship because it was not painted with anti-fouling paint. This attack took a lot of time away from his race. His engine also went out of order, when he was near the Canary Islands, and so when he finished he still had a lot of fuel left. He finished on 19th May 2019.

His finishing was considered one of the best fifth positions in Finnish Sailing Ever.

Tapio Lehtinen Golden Globe Race 2022

He participated in the Golden Globe Race 2022, with his previous Yacht. However, he once again faced atrocities. He faced a breakdown of 460 nautical miles SE from Port Elizabeth, in South Africa, and activated Asteria’s EPIRB. Soon The GGR Crisis management team in Les Sables d’Olonne and Race Founder and President Don McIntyre in Cape Town started coordinating with the Cape Town MRCC and CROSS Griz-Nez in France. Much later, Tapio activated his liferaft’s PLB indicating that he may have abandoned the ship.

The liferaft also has a VHF radio and GPS packed inside. MRCC Cape Town contacted nearby commercial vessels to divert to his position, with the closest ship 250 miles away. Other Participants Kirsten Neuschäfer and Abhilash Tomy, respectively 105 and 170 miles to his position have been informed of his latest position. Abhilash was the first to receive the message and diverted course toward Tapio’s latest position. He was finally rescued by Kirsten Neuschafer.

Here is a full bio of Tapio Lehtinen, his family, Son, Daughter, Wife, Parents, Siblings, school, education, hometown, profession, nationality, height, awards, Clubs, body measurements, races, yacht name, weight, eye color, hair color, gender, stats, sexuality, age, net worth, birthday, birthplace, address, zodiac Sign, religion, hobbies, salary, marital status.

Tapio Lehtinen Information Table

Name Tapio Lehtinen
Nickname N/A
Gender Male
Profession Sailor, Athlete
Height (approx.) N/A
Weight (approx.) N/A
Figure Measurements Not Available
Eye Colour Brownish
Hair Colour Brown
Date of Birth 19th January 1958
Age (as of 2022) 64 years
Birth Place Helsinki, Finland
Zodiac sign/Sun sign Capricorn
Nationality Finnish
Hometown Helsinki
School N/A
College/University Not Available
Educational Qualification N/A
Religion Christianity(most probably)
Ethnicity Finnish
Boat/Ship/Yacht name Astera(GGR 2018,2022)
Address Helsinki, Finland
Hobbies/Interests Sailing
Marital Status Married
Affairs/Boyfriends/Girlfriends Not Available
Sexuality Straight
Parents N/A
International Debuts Golden Globe Race 2018

Golden Globe Race 2022

Husband/Wife/Spouse Wife(name unknown)
Children Lauri Lehtinen

Silja Lehtinen

Awards 5th position at GGR 2018

Social Media Accounts of The Sailor

Facebook

Twitter

Lesser Known Facts About the GGR 2022 Participant

  • He is a Finnish Industrial Engineer.
  • His boat, Asteria was designed in Italy in 1964 and its type was S and S Gaia 36.
  • During the GGR 2022, his boat broke down in the middle of the sea and he spent 24 hours on a lifeboat.
  • His two children are also into Olympics.

FAQs on Tapio

1)How old is he?

He is currently 64 years old.

2)Who is Lauri Lehtinen?

Lauri is one of the two children of Tapio.

3)Why was he not allowed to remove the plague of Goose Barnacles from under his boat in GGR 2018?

He was not allowed because The Goose Barnacles, or Lepadidaes were introduced species in that region.

4)Is he rescued?

Yes, he faced the breakdown on 18th November but is finally rescued and is safe and healthy.

Also Read: Zaire Wade: Wiki, Bio, Height, Age, Game, Sister, Family

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