Interest in the Tornado class, and in multihulls in general, began in the early 1970s. Enthusiasm for the class grew when the Tornado was granted Olympic status, becoming the first multihull to be included in the Olympic sailing competition.
The first Tornados were often built by sailors themselves because there were very few boat manufacturers at the time, and the high cost of the boats encouraged many enthusiasts to build their own.
In the early years, there were about ten Tornados in Finland, and the enthusiasm for racing was tremendous. Sailing was still considered an elitist sport, dominated mainly by wealthy Swedish-speaking Finns. Tornado sailors did not fit easily into that aristocratic circle and were initially regarded as rebels of the sea. Many conservative sailors did not even consider the Tornado to be a “real” sailboat, which made the early years somewhat challenging.
Gradually, attitudes changed, and the class quickly developed to a very high level. Finnish Tornado sailors began to achieve success at the top international level, and Finland soon recognized the value and potential of the class.
As a small country, Finland was never strongly represented on the world stage, but a determined group of three or four Tornado crews represented our country in many prestigious competitions around the world.
I became acquainted with the class in 1976, when a friend and I bought our first Tornado in England. We found a suitable boat in the town of Brightlingsea; it had been built by Reg White / Sailcraft UK.
After a few years of training, we were ready for serious competition. However, the Finnish national level was already extremely strong, and we were not yet able to secure a place on the national team. My friend eventually lost interest, but I did not. Soon afterward, I joined skipper Pekka Narko as a crew member. Pekka represented Finland in three Olympic Games: Kingston 1976, Tallinn 1980, and Los Angeles 1984.
That proved to be the right decision, because our speed became competitive and we were able to challenge all of our rivals. We sailed together for four years, and our final regatta together was the 1984 Olympic Games.
Since then, I have sailed in several different classes, including the Soling, in which I won a World Championship silver medal, and I also participated in the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1988–89.
I am now retired from my work as a fire chief and rescue diver. I would be happy to share more stories if you are interested. Over the years, I have met many notable sailors, including almost all of the Finnish representatives from the Kingston Olympic Games.
There are many photos from LA.84, for example Göran Marström, Trine Elvsrøm, Huub Laumbrix, Chris Tims, Ecke Kaphengts, from Hyères, L.A., Lake Garda
Smythe sail loft, Olympic harbor, etc.
Yours sincerely
Juha Valtanen
Photo:
Tornado L-18
Skipper Pekka Narko
Crew Juha Valtanen