Sailing | A big surprise from Joel Harkimo – participates in the race where Tapio Lehtinen's boat sank

Joel Harkimo plans to participate in the Golden Globe round-the-world sailing race in 2026.

It is an ordeal of rape. In the Golden Globe, you sail around the globe alone, without stopping and without outside help. The journey takes about nine months or even longer.

“I have never been as motivated to do anything in my career as I am now, Harkimo”, 33, enthuses.

Harkimo says that he has dreamed of sailing around the world since he was a little boy. It's no wonder, because so is his father Harryhis uncle Roy like her aunt's husband Kenneth Thelen have sailed around the globe.

“I've grown up around sailors. It's somehow been in my mother's milk and in my blood.”

Harkimo decided on his participation already a year ago. At the same time, a wild training frenzy and the search for partners began.

However, the wife had to be told first To Janni Huss.

“Janni didn't jump with enthusiasm, but he is supportive and helps as much as he can. Our entire relationship has been based on the fact that we get to do our own things and make our dreams come true,” says Harkimo.

He feels that he is at a stage in his life where he can and should reach high.

The work patterns were also such that Harkimo was able to detach himself from the sailing project for four years. He is practically a full-time athlete.

“Last spring, there was an opportunity to clean the table. I got married last summer and I live in a good and stable relationship. Now is the right moment to make dreams come true, when we are old enough to still hustle.”

Golden Globe is considered the noble word of solo sailing. It is an exceptionally raw adventure even on the scale of the whole sport.

The participants sail through the monthly trade in the middle of the hustle and bustle without knowing anything else. The food must be packed on the boat before the trip, and you must not leave the boat. At the last Golden Globe Tapio Lehtinen put his life in danger when his boat sank in the Indian Ocean.

So you don't go on a trip with quick preparations. Harkimo is not discouraged, even though he believes he is one of the most inexperienced sea bears in the competition.

Joel Harkimo has sailed across the Atlantic three times. Picture: Discovery

He says that he trains 5-6 times a week in order to catch up with his opponents. This summer, the program includes running, skiing and gym training.

“The level of demand is quite high when I try to make myself a top athlete. In solo sailing, physics is really important. Fortunately, there is time to get myself in such shape that physics is my strength in the competition.”

The effort is at least as raw for the main hood as well. Harkimo has hired a psychic coach to prepare him for the lonely journey.

“I'm going to Lapland next week for two weeks alone to practice mentally. I have booked a cabin on the north side of Kilpisjärvi, where there is no electricity or mobile network.”

Harkimo was in France at the time of the interview, selling deals on a racing boat. If the deal is finalized, he will begin to get a feel for his boat already this spring on the waves of the Baltic Sea. At the end of the year, Harkimo is scheduled to sail across the Atlantic.

“I need a lot of sailing miles. It is essential that the boat works, it is tested in all conditions and I get to know it completely. There will inevitably be situations in the race where the boat needs to be repaired.”

A four-year project is not cheap fun. Harkimo suspects that the costs will rise to several hundreds of thousands of euros.

“You can sink as much junk into the boat as you want. There is no upper limit. It will take at least a couple hundred thousand euros.”

Harkimo's project sounds ambitious, and in some people's opinion, certainly downright absurd. However, the businessman from Sipo firmly believes that he will reach the finish line in Les Sables-d'Olonne in France in one piece in the summer of 2027.

“This is my thing. Time flies when you wake up in the morning and you're really excited about what you're doing.”