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| Vale Frank Bethwaite – Sailing Pioneer
It was with much sadness the Australian sailing world learns of the passing of Frank Bethwaite on the weekend. The famous sailing design and innovator passed away peacefully on Saturday May 12 (Sydney), surrounded by his family. He was 91 and was still active in his work on aerodynamic and hydrodynamics in sail craft.
The Sydney based sailor was one of the greatest pioneers of small sailing boat design in the post WW2 period and author of the book "High Performance Sailing" (1992) and "Higher Performance Sailing" (2002). He had just recently completed his third book on Apparent Wind Sailing to be published later this year by Adlard Coles.
Born in Wanganui, New Zealand in 1920, Frank learned to sail on the Wanganui River, building his own boats, experimenting with rigs and hull designs. He joined the Royal NZ Air Force during World War II and flew bombers in the Pacific for which he was awarded the DFC. Frank met and married Adelaide (Nel) Mills, a cipher officer in the air force, in 1945.
In 1968 he established Starboard Products in Sydney, a company that produced wooden masts and other parts for boats. He also conducted experiments on wind flowing over sails inside a small wind tunnel that he created in his workshop. Using smoke piped through straws, he was able to photograph the disturbed air. This led directly to experimental shaping of masts to promote more power.
Frank was the designer of a number of sailing boats that help advance sailing during the 1960s - 1990s, starting with the Northbridge Junior and the Northbridge Senior NS14. One of his greatest designs was the production 2-person Tasar sailing dinghy that came out in 1975. This boat specifically aimed at suiting an adult male/female crew and did a lot to enhance family sailing. Not requiring a spinnaker the Tasar put a lot more emphasis on sailing skills and created some excellent sailors.
Tasar manufacturing was established in Canada, the UK, Japan and Australia and numbers have reached 3000 Worldwide. Frank also had a big hand in the Laser II design and in the 1980s worked with Sydney's famous 18ft skiffs, assisting Dave Porter on the KB to a world championship. He also consulted on the advanced C Class catamarans, plus Australian Olympic team with weather information.
Frank’s other major contribution was an amazing sailing dynasty – his eldest son Mark became a multiple world champion in a variety of classes. His son Julian was also a top sailor in the 18 footers but also a gifted designer responsible for the Olympic 49er dinghy class. The 49er is regarded as one of the most advanced and most significant dinghy designs of modern times.
Julian worked closely with his father and his designs seemed to be a logical extension of Frank’s work. Julian also designed the 29er (pictured) that has also become a major international junior class.
And there is Nicky Bethwaite, the younger sister who became one of Australia’s most successful lady sailors. She has represented Australia at the Olympic level and helped round out an amazing talent pool in one family.
Frank Bethwaite bought a rigorous scientific approach to off-beach sailing that was largely lacking before his involvement. While so many small sail craft were built by eye and intuition Frank took an evidence-based approach that greatly advanced and refined the performance of small sail craft.
Frank was awarded an OAM for Services to Sport and is survived by his wife of 67 years, Nel, his four children Christine, Mark, Nicky and Julian, and five grandchildren.
James Hill
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