Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022
From the day back in 1998 that Ted Brewer mistook me for an old friend, my husband, Jerry Powlas, and I have had a warm and special relationship with him. At the time there was a sailor/publisher in Ontario named karin larson (her lowercase spelling, not mine). Unbeknownst to us and long before Jerry and I started Good Old Boat, she had started a successful regional sailing magazine called GAM on Yachting.
A professional photo of Ted taken for one of his three books on boat design.
But, as the editor of a sailing magazine that had not even been published yet, I was hopeful when I called Ted and left a message asking him to serve on our editorial board. This was a purely advisory position, since we believed we could never hope to ask for more.
Ted, thinking I was the other karin larson, returned the call full of his signature bubbly enthusiasm and said he’d be delighted…and how were things in Ontario? Once we straightened out the misunderstanding, Ted said he’d be happy to work with us.
I don’t need to remind you of the wonderful boat designs by Ted Brewer, the Brewer Bite, his Comfort Ratio, or the books he authored on sailboat design. Others can—and have—told these tales (See “A Stand-Up Draftsman,” July/August 2020).
Ted designed some 260 boats, but the Whitby 42, shown here, is the one he credits for establishing him as a production boat designer. Photo credit: Brian Glaessner/All Coast Yacht Sales.
Instead, I want to focus on the personal Ted Brewer and his long and positive relationship with Good Old Boat. Ted’s name did indeed appear as a member of the editorial board starting with our first issue. By the third issue we published a profile of Ted written by John Vigor. We were still too timid to ask Ted to write for us, but we needed his expertise. We had started a series, focused on good old boats and their sailors. These features could use the addition of technical insight, but we didn’t have the background to review every sailboat. We were the sailors of a good old boat, not experts on design. We asked Ted to give us a technical review of Robert Perry’s Baba 30. A day later, an article appeared on our fax machine, and before we had a chance to read it, Ted called to ask, “How’d you like what I wrote? Do you want more?”
We did. That led to 50 more sailboat comparisons, 35 technical articles on everything from stability and galley layout to sail plans and rating rules—and an ongoing friendship. Ted offered us the use of his boat, a 24-foot Nimble Nomad, to explore British Columbia if we could arrange to visit (who does that for perfect strangers?). He and his wife, Betty, frequently drove from the West Coast to visit family in Ontario, and they visited us in Minnesota a couple of times on their way through.
Ted Brewer works at his drafting desk in the early 1960s while at Bill Luders’ firm.
Eventually we did get out to Vancouver Island and spent several days touring with Ted and Betty and then following him around as he went through the formalities that his honorary position as commodore of that year’s Victoria Classic Boat Festival required. We have many fond memories of that trip and our time together.
Every year we received long Christmas cards detailing the Brewers’ year with stories of family visits and their long road trips, always taking the back roads across Canada and the U.S., eating and sleeping at the most out-of-the-way establishments possible.
The very vagabond nature of these trips highlights Ted’s indomitable spirit. Betty, as sidekick and best friend, was always one for adventure. They discontinued their travels as it became increasingly painful to sit for long periods of time, but Ted and Betty stayed busy with family, friends, and the active support of their home community through Royal Canadian Legion projects.
Ted died on September 30, 2021, at the age of 88. Along with Betty, he’s survived by her two daughters and one son, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and his legacy: scores of good old boats built to his designs—what he called his “babies.”
Ted and Betty photographed in Ted’s office in October 2019. The two met when Ted chased after Betty’s father to learn more about his BMW motorcycle.
It’s hard to believe he is gone. He was always active and vigorous, a risk-taker who sought adventure and knew no obstacles, one who was cheerful and outgoing. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a can-do, let’s-go approach to life. He knew no strangers.
In an author bio we printed in November 1999 we said, “Ted Brewer is, simply put, one of our favorite people and a terrific naval architect. Seems like this should be enough. His real bio is on page 51.”
That “real bio” sums up a sailor’s life worth living: “Ted Brewer is one of North America’s best-known yacht designers, having worked on the America’s Cup boats American Eagle and Weatherly, as well as boats that won the Olympics, the Gold Cup, and dozens of celebrated ocean races. He is also the man who designed scores of good old boats…the ones still sailing after all these years.”
Jerry and I will be forever grateful for the many connections we made as the founders of Good Old Boat. Ted and Betty Brewer stand out among the best. Like the many others who were influenced by, have boats designed by, or were simply blessed by knowing Ted, we already miss him very much.
Karen Larson founded Good Old Boat with her husband, Jerry Powlas, in 1998.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
