Francis Dewar Bethwaite DFC, OAM (26 May 1920 – 12 May 2012)[1] was a New Zealand naval architect, author and Olympic meteorologist.
[2] Bethwaite was born in Wanganui, New Zealand,[2] and built his first boat (a 16 ft sailing canoe) as a teenager.
He joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War, becoming a flight instructor and test pilot before flying bombing missions over the Pacific during 1944 and 1945.
After settling in Sydney, Bethwaite designed a small boat suitable for his youngest children to use to learn how to sail.
A third volume, Fast Handling Technique, was completed shortly before his death and published in January 2013.