Join Swan 55 Galiana's 2025–2026 Ocean Racing & Training Adventure leading to Ocean Globe Race 2027!
After a strong 2023 Ocean Globe Race, the classic Swan 55 yawl Galiana is preparing for the 2027 race, and you can join us! With a full refit and upgrades for safety and performance, Galiana will be ready to tackle another epic circumnavigation.
We're embarking on a 15-month Atlantic Odyssey, racing and cruising through the UK, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, and back across the Atlantic. This includes nine classic ocean races and regattas, plus multiple offshore/ocean training sails.
We're looking for adult Corinthian amateur sailors- enthusiastic, team-focused, and eager to learn. Experience is welcome but not required. Crew spots for the 2027 Ocean Globe Race will be selected during this journey, with final picks in winter 2026/27.
Whether you want to join our team for one of the classic races, or a single training sail, enjoy a relaxed cruise, or commit to the full program, this is your chance to sail with a seasoned skipper and passionate crew on a legendary yacht.
Don't miss out on this unforgettable ocean adventure. Apply now to join Galiana and be part of classic ocean racing history!
Check our calendar and choose the sailing event that suits you best.
A unique opportunity to sail on the timeless classic yawl Galiana, skippered by the legendary Tapio Lehtinen.
There is nothing quite like crossing an ocean under sail. It is a journey beyond the ordinary, where each day brings a new horizon, and the sea offers moments of stillness, challenge, and awe. Out there, far from the noise of modern life, you rediscover clarity, connection, and the timeless rhythm of nature.
At the heart of our voyages is Galiana, a truly unique classic yacht. Galiana is a 1970 Swan 55 yawl, designed by the legendary Sparkman & Stephens and built by the renowned Nautor’s Swan yard in Finland. With her elegant lines and two-masted yawl rig, she is a rare masterpiece, a perfect blend of ocean-going performance and classic beauty. Sailing her is not just transport across the sea, it is participation in a living maritime legacy.
Skipper Tapio Lehtinen is one of the most respected and legendary ocean sailors. Tapio has participated in four round-the-world races, most recently skippering Galiana in the Ocean Globe Race 2023. He offers each crew member the chance to learn, grow, and experience the ocean in its most authentic form.
Ocean sailing aboard Galiana is more than adventure; it’s transformation. You’ll feel the sunrise warm your face as the world awakens. You’ll share night watches under a canopy of stars, guided by the wind and the waves. You’ll discover what it means to be truly present, connected to the sea, to your crew, and to something far greater than yourself.
Sailing on Galiana is having fun, making new friends, and learning new things about sailing.
Join us aboard Galiana for a sailing experience like no other, where adventure meets heritage, and every mile is a memory in the making.
You are invited to sail with us!
You don't need to be a professional sailor. Even limited experience is enough if you have the right attitude and a willingness to learn. If you are a total beginner, check with us.
Sailing is a lifetime sport; you can sail through your entire lifetime, or alternatively, you can start to sail at whatever age. On Galiana, we want to sail with adults - if you are under 18, you are welcome with your parents.
There is no upper age limit. I'm planning to continue sailing as long as I can, and this plan will help me stay in shape. Although we have a few electric winches, sailing Galiana is physical; it is a sport. So you should be in reasonably good shape, have reasonably good balance for your safety, and not be seriously overweight.
For your safety, you should be able to pull yourself up (not from the water, we don't fall overboard), but hold yourself in place in rough weather. For your comfort, our bunks are 60 cm wide at sea, you should be able to climb up into them and fit into them.
Sailing is a continuous learning process, there is enough to be learned throughout one's life, also mine. I have been instructing and coaching sailors for decades, so I promise to do my best with everyone wanting to learn, and we will adapt the way we sail to the experience level of the people we have on board. You don't need to be shy if you are a beginner, and I ask you to stay humble if you are experienced.
The one prerequisite for any longer offshore passages is that you should have sailed enough to know that you don't have an extreme tendency to get seasick; in that case, you would not enjoy the passage. If you have a tendency to seasickness, talk about it beforehand, and we'll try to find the right preventive medication for you.
We don’t have any passengers. Everyone who sails with Galiana is part of our team. You will actively participate in sailing and all the daily routines onboard.
Check our calendar and choose the sailing event that suits you best.
Safety on Galiana
The S&S Swan 55 Galiana is originally very heavily and strongly built in 1970 by Nautor's Swan in Finland. The boat first went through a very thorough refit in 2000-2001 by Universal Marinas in Hamble (including a new deck, replacing all deck hardware with Harken gear, etc). Prior to the 2023 Ocean Globe Race the boat had another two year refit including new electrics & electronics, modifying the interior for ocean racing, removing open spaces and adding handles and support for safe moving inside the boat, new rig and standing and running rigging, insulating the deck and sides of the boat for warmth in high latitudes and to keep the heat of the sun out a little in the tropics. The safety demands and equipment required by the Notice of Race of the OGR are second to none, so the boat has all the imaginable safety gear.
Despite the modern PDFs, MOB equipment, life rings, etc, I am a strong believer and proponent of active safety as opposed to safety gadgetry, which at worst can create a false sense of safety. On Galiana, we do MOB drills, but more importantly, we do everything to prevent MOB situations. We have never had even a close call during the OGR. We have jacklines and attachment points close to the center line and use double-ended tethers so that in rough weather, it is not possible to end outside the lifelines. Expect to practice moving on the deck using your safety harness and tethers in a way that you will not end up over the side.
Regarding safety, culture eats gadgets. We do have all the gadgets, but we nurture an active safety culture and avoid getting into situations where we would need the safety equipment or outside help.
We also have extensive first aid equipment and medication onboard, and always someone with professional-level training for first aid. But again, we sail the boat in such a way that we only have needed Ibuprofen or an occasional bandage (knock on wood!).
Tapio will be the skipper during the races and on most of the ocean training passages. Depending on the experience of the guest team, we'll have 1-3 people from our own team accompanying us.