Tool for the job
How do old skiffies stay fit? They move into sportsboats and then remove the keel bulb. Michael ‘Burger’ Kennedy talks 89ers with Julian Bethwaite and Graham ‘GT’ Turner…
In the world of high-performance sailing the name Bethwaite is synonymous with some of the great skiff designs. Think the B18, the 29er and the 49er just for starters. So when Julian Bethwaite casually asked if I would care to come for a sail on his new sportsboat… let’s just say he didn’t have to ask me twice. Cue the 89er Don’t Panic. The 89er came to life as a personal
project during Covid. The design brief comprised two goals: go fast and have fun. Julian and his youngest son Alex did the
bulk of the build over four months in a unit north of Sydney. The hull was built using PET foam (recycled soft-drink and water bottles) using basalt fibre as the sole reinforcement (with a little glass). The hull is very light and very stiff – overall weight is a whisker under 500kg. Doyle sails on a C-Tech rig complete a racy picture.
44 SEAHORSE
The allocated day for our sail arrived
but the wind was patchy at best, the water was like glass with light whispers of breeze from the north. We weren’t hopeful. We needn’t have worried. The lightest of
puffs propelled the 89er along and once we got out into the main harbour a few decent puffs started to fill in and she was off. Julian’s pedigree as a ‘skiffie’ is obvious,
with an efficient self-tacking jib and a super-clean, well-organised cockpit. This boat is a big skiff. If the breeze dies you better move and move quickly. I can’t wait to take her out in breeze. After sailing I sat down with Julian and
Graham ‘GT’ Turner for a quick chat… Julian Bethwaite: So GT is my partner in crime in the 89er. It started as a Covid project. It’s just one of those things that I should have really done five years ago, but other things conspired to make that not happen. I’ve been sailing sportsboats with GT for probably the best part of eight years. Farr 30s, FarEast 28 and Thompson 8s. We actually started looking for a 79er
but couldn’t find one. We just wanted something to have fun that we could tow behind the family car and go do Airlie Beach, Port Lincoln and all that sort of stuff. So we had the Thompson 8 and we did the sportsboat nationals and we actually won… but truthfully we weren’t quick enough. We wanted something that was quicker. So off we went… Seahorse: No surprise considering your backgrounds in 18-footers. JB: Yeah, we’re all petrolheads. SH: But what are retired 18-foot skiff sailors to do?
Graham Turner: Well, they don’t sail anything for a while because if you’re not good enough to sail a foiling boat there’s nothing out there to interest you. But these boats, these sportsboats I think are fantastic for older guys who can get around the track a little bit and get some exercise. It gives you as good a thrill as you can have not sailing an 18-footer and way better, in my view anyway, than sailing yachts and all those other types of slow boats. JB: And the other beauty is you’re not staying overnight on a yacht. You get home, you have a shower and you sit down to a nice meal and a few bottles of red wine – and at our age what could be better? SH: Exactly… go fast during the day, sleep in your own bed at night. GT: And us guys all go to bed about 8.30. (laughing) JB: He’s speaking for himself… But, no, it’s just a lot of fun. SH: So as a design exercise, Julian, it must be an interesting project for you? JB: Yes, there are still quite a lot of parameters you have to stay within if you want it to be a genuine sportsboat and start playing with those guys. We used to be PHS but now we’re with the CBF hand- icap system. But we really don’t worry too much about that. This tends to be a line- honours boat. This is all about going around the track as fast as we can, having a good time, try and get the lifts and knocks right, try and get the gusts down- hill. I’ll just bear away and run with it. It’s not the biggest rig in the world in
sportsboats. We could go another metre higher but it starts to get a bit pointless. So
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