Tapio Lehtinen

Tapio Lehtinen (born 19 January 1958 ) is a Finnish Industrial engineer, a former commodore of the Helsingfors Segelsällskap and one of the most prominent Finnish single-handed sailors. He participated in the 2018 Golden Globe Race and sailed solo, without stops, around the world. He was placed fifth in the race.

Sailing career Lehtinen began sailing in 1965 with optimists, and during his junior years he raced actively with light sailing craft. Lehtinen has also sailed with Laser, 470 and 29er dinghies. Later he has been an active sailor in the open seas and oceans, and in 1981–82 he participated in the Whitbread Round the World Race in the boat Skopbank of Finland, serving as its officer in charge of navigational watch. The boat was placed 12th in the race.

The race began on 1 July 2018, from Les Sables-d'Olonne, France.

By the time Lehtinen reached the waters of Tasmania, his boat was plagued by lepadidae, which had fastened on its bottom in the Indian Ocean. The Australian authorities did not allow him to clear the bottom of the boat, as lepadidae is an introduced species in the region. Some of the other participants in the race, however, had been allowed to undertake such an operation. The lepadidae had been able to fasten on the bottom of the boat, as it had not been treated with appropriate anti-fouling paint. The mistake had been made at a Finnish yard, and the reason for this was that the kinds of anti-fouling paint that are used for boats in ocean races are not allowed to be used in the Baltic Sea. The lepadidae effectively put an end to Lehtinen's competition for victory, and he was not able to achieve more than the bottom place in the race.

It has been said of Lehtinen's race, that his position at the finish is “one of the best fifth positions of Finnish sailing ever.” After that he plans to captain an all-Finnish team in the 2023 Ocean Globe race, with a boat he is to buy from England, the down payment for which he has already paid.

Personal life Tapio Lehtinen has two children. Olympic sailor Lauri Lehtinen and Olympic medalist Silja Lehtinen.