Kirsten Neusch\u00e4fer has rescued fellow Golden Globe Race skipper Tapio Lehtinen after Lehtinen\u2019s boat sank and he spent over 24 hours adrift in the southern Indian Ocean.Although much modified, Asteria is the only boat in the Golden Globe Race that was originally designed for racing. Photo: Golden Globe RaceGolden Globe skipper Tapio Lehtinen has been rescued by fellow\u00a0solo competitor Kirsten Neusch\u00e4fer after Lehtinen\u2019s boat sank and he spent over 24 hours adrift in the southern Indian Ocean.
\nLehtinen and Neusch\u00e4fer were both racing in the \u2018retro\u2019 single-handed non-stop around the world Golden Globe Race, in 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
\nAt 0800 this morning, race HQ confirmed that Neusch\u00e4fer had successfully rescued Lehtinen from his life raft, and \u201cafter a glass of rum, transferred him aboard the Bulk Carrier DARYA GAYATRI.\u201d
\nLehtinen was 2nd in the 2022 Golden Globe Race when his yacht Asteria sank. Photo: GGR\/Etienne Messikommer
\nGolden Globe rescue
\nYesterday, at 0654 (UTC), Lehtinen manually activated his Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) while some 450 miles south east of Port Elizabeth in South Africa.
\nAt 0922 UTC Lehtinen activated the emergency YB3 satellite tracking and texting device which is part of the grab bag, and at 1002 UTC manually acknowledged the message sent by the GGR Crisis Team.
\nIn communication with organisers via the YB3, he reported that his Gaia 36 Asteria had rapidly sank, stern first, and that he was in the liferaft, and was wearing a survival suit.
\nAt 1105 he messaged: \u201cI GAVE ASTERIA A LAST SALUTE STANDING IN THE RAFT AS SHE WENT DOWN\u201d
\nWeather conditions at the time were 15-20 knot winds with 3-4m waves.
\nInitial reports from the Golden Globe race organisers made clear the enormity of the rescue, and also explaining that without his usual glasses, the 64-year-old Finnish sailor was struggling to read and send messages.
\nRace organisers also raised the alarm with fellow competitors. Initially 4th-placed sailor Abhilash Tomy, who was himself rescued mid-ocean during the 2018 race, turned back towards Lehtinen\u2019s position. Tomy was approx 170 miles south-west of Asteria\u2019s last known position. Third-placed Kirsten Neuschafer was closer, around 105 miles south-west of Lehtinen\u2019s last known position, but race HQ could not initially make contact with the solo skipper.
\nMRCC Cape Town also established communication with the bulk carrier DARYA GAYATRI which diverted to assist. The vessel was 250 nm NW from Lehtinen\u2019s position and had an initial ETA of today (November 19) at 1200 UTC.
\nLater yesterday morning, Golden Globe Race HQ made contact with Neusch\u00e4fer, who diverted her yacht Minnehaha to Lehtinen, while Tomy was stood down and resumed racing.
\nAsteria had a sleek cuddy added, originally designed for racing powerboats to withstand a capsize at 100 knots. Photo: Rupert Holmes
\n24 hours in a liferaft
\nRemarkably, Lehtinen then proceeded to send live updates from the liferaft (reported via the Golden Globe Race news feed) as he waited 24 hours for rescue.
\nAt 2:47 PM he sent: \u201cBACK2FAM&YEAM,I,(JNGOODHANDS,RGDS2K,WLDHAVE PRFRRDMINNEHAHA))
\n[Interpretation: Love Back to Family & Team, I\u2019m in good hands, regards to Kirsten, Would have preferred Minnehaha]
\nAt 4:24 PM he messaged: \u201cADMIRIMG SUMSET&BIRDS\u201d
\nAt 6:12 PM he attempted to get some rest, messaging: \u201c:HITTING THERMAL SACK,IT,S A LUXURY RAFT 4 1 ERSON:)
\nThat was shortly followed at 6:44 PM by \u201c2ALBATROSSES KISSING IN THE LEE OF THE RAFT!\u201d
\nEarly this morning (02:00hrs) he reported: \u201cA PIECEFUL NIGHT UNDER THE STARS, HAVE SLEPT LIKE IN CRADLE\u201d
\n03:13 \u201dYOU CAN:T GET MUCH CLOSER 2 THE OCEAN, I LOVE IT, BUT THIS IS C\u201d
\n03:18 \u201dCLOSR ENOUGH, THMX 4 LOOKING AFTER ME\u201d
\nHe continued updating on the wildlife he saw, writing at 04:17 \u201cA JUVBMILE WANDERING A CAME2AAY HI,A CPL STEPS&FLAPS&OFF HE WENT GLIDIN, THEIR FLIGHT IS ADDICTIVLY SEAUTIFULL SSE F4. CUMULUS\u201d
\nThen, at 05:09, came the messages he had made contact with Neusch\u00e4fer: \u201dJST SPOKE W HER\u201d.
\n05:22 \u201cI D HER\u201d
\nAt 0639 Neusch\u00e4fer confirmed that she had spoken to Lehtinen via VHF, and was on a direct course to the liferaft\u2019s position. Conditions were fair, F4 SSE and 3m waves.
\nAn hour and a half later, race HQ confirmed that Neusch\u00e4fer had successfully rescued Lehtinen from his life raft, and \u201cafter a glass of rum, transferred him aboard the Bulk Carrier DARYA GAYATRI.\u201d
\nLehtinen was reported to be well, and \u2018on\u00a0good form\u2019. In a statement, organisers said: \u201cGGR wishes to thank the MRCC Cape Town, Capt. Naveen Kumar Mehrotra and the crew of the DARYA GAYATRI for the exemplary coordination of Tapio\u2019s rescue.\u201d
\nWe\u2019ll update more on the rescue as we have it.
\nNeuschafer on her Cape George 36 cutter, Minnehaha, was first to reach Lehtinen in the lifefraft. Photo: GGR
\nExperienced competitors
\nBoth Lehtinen and Neusch\u00e4fer are exceptionally experienced sailors.\u00a0Lehtinen was the only skipper returning to compete in the second running of the \u2018retro\u2019 Golden Globe Race in the same boat that he sailed in 2018.
\nAsteria was the oldest boat in the fleet, but lovingly restored and highly reliable. The Gaia 36 is an S&S design from 1965 which Lehtinen successfully completed the circumnavigation in in 2018\/19, finishing 5th, despite massive barnacle growth that slowed his boat to a crawl.
\nThe boat had been extensively refit before the 2018 race especially for the demands of the non-stop round the world course, including laminated kevlar panels for impact protection.
\nBesides three watertight bulkheads and foam buoyancy in the bow, Lehtinen added an additional pair of watertight bulkheads aft, which were not specified in the safety requirements of the race rules but he built in for added security. The first was just forward of the rudder tube, the second a few feet further forward. All through-hull fittings were position between the two to try and eliminate the risk of a failed skin fitting flooding the boat.
\nLehtinen also narrowed the original cockpit well of Asteria, so it snugly fit the liferaft, and lessened the volume of water that the cockpit would be flooded by in waves.
\nSee our sister title Yachting Monthly\u2019s tour of the boat<\/p>\n
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\nLehtinen\u2019s extensive experience includes competing in the 1981\/82 Whitbread Round the World Race, the Azores and Back Race (AZAB), and other offshores. He has also been preparing a crewed entry in the Ocean Globe Race, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Whitbread Round the World Race.
\nKirsten Neusch\u00e4fer sailing in the prologue race in Gijon ahead of the 2022 Golden Globe Race start. Credit: GGR
\nNeusch\u00e4fer is a South African sailor who has sailed extensively in high latitudes, including the Antarctic Peninsula with Skip Novak\u2019s Pelagic Expeditions. She is among the Golden Globe Race skippers with the most Southern Ocean experience.
\nHer Cape George 36 cutter, Minnehaha is one of the fastest boats in the fleet, and was thoroughly refit in Prince Edward Island, off Nova Scotia, in 2020\/21. Pre-start, Neuschafer then sailed Minnehaha solo from Newfoundland to South Africa, then up to France, giving her invaluable sea miles to test reliability.
\nNeusch\u00e4fer has now resumed racing.
\nThe post Golden Globe skipper Tapio Lehtinen rescued by fellow competitor after 24 hours in liferaft appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kirsten Neusch\u00e4fer has rescued fellow Golden Globe Race skipper Tapio Lehtinen after Lehtinen\u2019s boat sank and he spent over 24 hours adrift in the southern Indian Ocean.Although much modified, Asteria is the only boat in the Golden Globe Race that … <\/p>\n