Most cruising boats are unlikely to sail the miles or through the conditions the Sparkman & Stephens-designed Galiana WithSecure has just experienced.

The Swan 55 and her Finnish crew have just raced 30,000 miles around the world, through the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans, around Cape Horn and faced tailwinds with 60-knot gusts and 10m seas while taking part in the retro 2023-24 Ocean Globe Race, held to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Whitbread Round the World Race.

The owner and skipper of Galiana WithSecure, Tapio Lehtinen, was an amateur sailor who, at the age of 23, was given the opportunity to crew on the 1981 Finnish Whitbread entry, Skopbank of Finland.

It planted a seed that eventually blossomed into his Ocean Globe Race project.

Rather than offer paid-for-berth places, Lehtinen put together a team of young Finnish sailors to launch a new generation of ocean-racing Finns.

Ville Norra is Galiana WithSecure’s first mate (Lehtinen calls him the yacht’s co-skipper) and was pivotal in making this dream a reality.

The creative director and advertising entrepreneur has been involved with Tapio Lehtinen Sailing since October 2019 and was responsible for taking Lehtinen’s ideas for the boat and making them work.

En route from Gosport to the Kiel Canal in Germany, Norra explained how he worked through the design process for many of these ideas, which can be adapted for cruising yachts.

“Tapio is the idea generator and came up with many ideas. It takes a lot of time, effort and work to make those dreams come true; he always wants it to be perfect, which I understand. I like to spend a lot of time thinking about the idea, drawing it out on paper and on the computer, doing 3D modelling so I can really think through each idea to get them right.”

The crew spent two seasons sailing Galiana WithSecure 10,000 miles ahead of the race; this allowed them to explore any planned changes, and make sure it was right for the boat and the crew.

The subsequent refit was also carried out in two stages; the first in 2021 saw alterations to the basic structure of the boat, including building bulkheads, refitting the deck, and removing the companionway from the aft cabin as the boat’s low freeboard meant it was prone to being pooped making the aft cabin wet.

Galiana WithSecure was then sailed from Helsinki to France for the start of the 2022 Golden Globe Race; Tapio Lehtinen, who had come fifth in the 2018 edition, was racing again in his Gaia 36, Asteria.

The voyage to France allowed the team “to gain even more experience and help us decide what should be changed on the boat”, and the French mast manufacturer, Marechal to finalise details of the new, stronger rig.

“No boat is ever perfect. When sailing, you just make notes of those things that aren’t perfect,” explained Norra. “There will be some obvious things, but other necessary modifications will only become obvious over time. Where we fitted the handholds on Galiana WithSecure is one example of that. Whenever one of the crew put their hand out for a hold and it wasn’t there, we marked the spot. When the boat is heeling and slamming in the waves, and you find yourself repeatedly grabbing for a handhold at the same spot, you know that is where it should go.”

Other changes were more evident. The boat’s original saloon was remodelled; the huge dining table, U-shaped sofa and TV cupboard were removed in favour of necessary bunks; Galiana WithSecure was one of the few Ocean Globe Race boats where the crew were assigned their own bunks, each with lee cloths.

The bunks are only 60cm wide or the wider ones can be made that width with an extra leecloth – you need to sleep snugly when the boat is rolling when sailing downwind.

“The saloon is in the middle of the boat and is the most stable place when you’re out at sea so it is the best place to sleep. Then the other change was we modified all of the bunks so they are aligned with the keel and not the sides of the boat so it doesn’t matter which tack you’re on – port or starboard – you will never be sleeping with your feet above your head. This was another of Tapio’s ideas,” said Norra.

The original dining table was replaced with the table from Asteria, but this needed reinforcing.

“I got really frustrated with the wooden supports of the folding table and whenever one of the 100kg guys would lean on the table, it was ‘crack’ and then, ‘Ville, can you repair the table again!’; so I decided to make changes,” said Norra.

Stainless steel extensions were fabricated to support the table when in use. Each has a lip to prevent the rod from sliding out when the boat is heeled.

Holes were drilled into the extensions so that when not in use, they can be screwed securely underneath the table.

Vertical steel bars were installed through the table and bolted to the structure below the cabin sole and the deck above.

Useful grab rails, these bars also stored head torches. Four holes were drilled into the tabletop for a vice, and extra bolts were fitted to the drawers storing heavy tools.

The boat’s batteries are below the port settee and when fitted, there was a spare 10cm space above them in the locker.

Rather than let this go to waste, this space became storage for the tools used daily.

“We decided that by putting foam at the bottom of this space and foam on the top of the lid, we’d be left with an 8cm space protected by foam which is where we stored the tools we regularly needed. You can just throw them in there and they stay in place and do not make any noise,” said Norra.

As part of the boat’s refit, the original chart table was moved into the aft cabin and the now vacant area became the ‘boiler room’, where the crew stored their wet kit.

It is directly opposite the companionway and the galley, which together became the boat’s ‘wet area’.

For extra protection, all of the electronics and electrics were moved from the side of the boat and two Safire diesel heaters and a diesel generator were installed behind the boiler room bulkhead; one blowing hot air forward, the other blowing hot air aft.

Steel pipes were fitted in the boiler room and air from the heaters was diverted to allow gloves, hats and boots to be dried.

“This drying system is based on Tapio’s original idea. We fitted longer ‘organ’ pipes so boots could be put on them upside down, and then smaller ones were attached to the boiler room wall for gloves and hats. They were very effective, even drying out the boots,” explained Norra.

Electric ventilation was also added.

The aft cabin had a sliding door to keep it dry. A canvas door, which could be rolled away, was also fitted to close the bulkhead opening in the saloon.

An extra door was installed in the aft heads so it could be used by the crew on watch and prevent the living quarters of the boat from getting wet.

As anyone sailing in cooler climes will tell you, condensation is an ongoing battle.

To combat this, 10-30mm of closed-cell insulation foam was glued under the lower surface of the deck and inside the freeboards/sides of the boat.

This also made the boat warmer and quieter in heavy weather.

Plexiglass panels were fashioned for each of the hatches. These were fixed in place using Velcro to help prevent condensation from dripping into the living quarters.

An “astiankuivauskaappi” is found in most Finnish kitchens. This is a dish-drying cabinet above the sink which has an open bottom and wire rack or dowling rod shelving and is used to store washed-up dishes, crockery and cutlery.

A carpenter built and installed one with wire shelving above the sink on Galiana WithSecure, with an extra safety catch to prevent the contents from falling out.

The yacht also has two fridges; when closed, these provide a 1m-long countertop for food preparation.

But, having so much space meant mugs, plates and food could easily slide around when the boat heeled. To counter this, Norra fashioned a piece of 4x2in teak which could be slotted between the two fridges, making the countertop useable without losing space.

Safety is paramount on any boat, especially when sailing offshore or solo, and many of the ideas aboard Galiana WithSecure reflected this.

Steel poles were installed parallel to the upper bunks, making it easier for crew to climb up into their bunks, especially for those sleeping on the windward side.

Safety belts were also fitted to bunks.

With the closing of the aft companionway, the design of the main companionway was changed to make it as safe as possible and a doghouse was added over the original hatch, which remained, to make it as watertight as possible.

This was modelled on two of Olin Stephen’s classic yawls from the 1930s – Comet and Manitou.

“The companionway steps from the cabin top used to be almost vertical,” said Norra. “We changed it so the angle was as big as possible but safe so we could utilise every inch of the boat. Initially, we thought it would be super heavy but it has turned out to be very practical. It’s something you can rely on and lean on in all weathers. It is not just a staircase but acts as two ‘walls’ – one for the boiler room and one for the galley. There are very sturdy handrails too.”

I can vouch for the usefulness of these ‘walls’, especially when putting on gear during watch changes in tailwinds that were gusting 50 knots.

Norra also bolted a teak rod to the floor at the boiler room entrance which can be used as a support while changing.

“Before the wood was there, we would slip and slide all over the place,” noted Norra.

Grab bags were stored next to the boat’s exit by the companionway stairs and secured with a carabiner to make them easy to release.

Chafe is the bane of any sailor’s life, even more so if the boat is being pushed hard while racing.

On Galiana WithSecure, leather chafe protectors were made for the running backstays.

For running rigging, it’s important to route all the lines so chafe will be avoided.

Where this wasn’t possible, the team’s sailmaker, Alex von Flittner, sewed extra Dyneema covers on lines where they touch shrouds etc to try and protect them as much as possible.

The engine throttle in the cockpit was replaced with a Spinlock winch handle, which could be removed when racing to prevent lines from becoming caught.

The sail plan was also changed, with three furling headsails in front of the mast, a fully battened main and a mizzen.

This was the same as Asteria’s rig set-up, which Lehtinen believes is safer and helps the boat shift gears more quickly; rather than changing from one genoa to another, the crew just used the furling headsails.

It also minimised risk, as crew spent less time on deck at the front of the mast.

“To be honest, some of the team wondered if we really needed the three furling headsails as we were not sailing solo and had enough crew on board to change sails,” said Norra.

“But while racing, we understood just how practical they were as we could change the sails in three minutes, changing from genoa to double-header and back and forth as the weather changed. If we had to keep taking the sails down and up, then it would have taken half an hour every time, so we were fast to react to the changing winds.”

A preventer was also rigged for safety.

Made from Dyneema, the length of the boom, it could be used on either side and hung under the boom when not in use.

The foreguys are run to the cockpit and the leeward line can be used as the preventer when attached to the forward end of the Dyneema line.

“This set-up gave a good angle for the preventer and allowed us to get it really tensioned. We also used the preventer in lighter winds or when there was no wind. Often in little wind, with your mainsail up, the boom is swinging and slamming and this actually throws the wind off the sail. Using the preventer allowed us to keep the boom very rigid and tight, as well as secure; it could also be controlled from the cockpit,” said Norra.

No decision has yet been made as to whether Galiana WithSecure will be on the start line of the 2027 Ocean Globe Race, but if this classic yawl is, you can be sure that more clever ideas will be realised to make her as practical as possible.

Tabarly’s chart table

Perhaps a bit extreme for an every day cruising boat, the gimballed chart table on Galiana WithSecure does deserve a mention for its clever design.

It was built and installed as a nod to one of Lehtinen’s heroes, French sailor Éric Tabarly, who had full-size gimballed chart tables on all of his Pen Duick yachts; Pen Duick VI has a Harley-Davidson seat.

The chart table on Galiana WithSecure can be adjusted, depending on the heel of the boat. A Harley Davidson seat can also be moved and has five different positions for comfort.

“The chart table can be adjusted to heeling angles of 12.5° and 25° to make it level but we realised that the 25° is slightly too much, so maybe 20° would have been better,” explained Norra.

To change the angle of the chart table, there is a screw underneath that locks into the desired position.

“We have been discussing if we would modify this, so rather than a screw, we would use a pressure mechanism so it is easier to change, especially in heavy weather,” added Norra

Continues below…

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