Yacht designer and father of four Ed Dubois

Born in Croydon in April 1952 as the second of four children to parents, Robin and Doreen Dubois. He grew up in Warlingham and attended Whitgift School in South Croydon.

Despite living miles from the sea, he developed a love of boats from an early age and went on a number of sailing camps during the school holidays with the encouragement of his parents.

He took a yacht design course at Southampton College of Technology in 1971 and later gained vital experience in the industry by working at a boatyard in Jersey.

In 1976 he designed a yacht for Jersey restaurant owner George Skelley, which went on to win several races and launched his career as a yacht designer in his own right, enabling him to form Dubois Naval Architects the following year.

Three years later, one of his creations, Police Car, was among the yachts that captured the America’s Cup for Australia.

During the 1980s and 1990s boats, designed by Mr Dubois and his team won the Fastnet Race, the Sydney to Hobart race and other prestigious prizes.

In 1985 he designed the 123ft Aquel II, which catapulted him into the world of superyachts. But he continued to design racing boats and saw one of his creations, Gefion, win sailing’s World Cup in 1988. Two other Dubois-designed yachts captured the same prize in 1989 and 1990.

More success followed in 2008 when the 174ft superyacht Nirvana was crowned Yacht of the Show at a prestigious event in Monaco.

In 1995 he and his wife, Honor, suffered a devastating blow when one of their four children, daughter Minna, was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer.

The couple joined forces with Sparks, the medical research charity, to launch the Dubois Child Cancer Fund, which has helped fund research into the disease. Minna survived but Mr Dubois was himself diagnosed with cancer last year and later suffered a stroke.

He was unexpectedly rushed into hospital in the middle of last month and died on March 24.