An artist and leading figure in youth sailing in Bermuda was a natural teacher who coached sailing for decades, including some of the island’s top sailors.

Paul Doughty was at home on the water as he was in the studio, racing from 1975 on his father’s yacht Asteroid and regularly sailing the Newport to Bermuda and Marion Bermuda yacht races.

“My father told me that he did not care what I did in life, as long as I did it to my fullest and best abilities,” he told The Royal Gazette in a 2003 interview.

His family said Mr Doughty had a love of the island’s history and preserving its cultural heritage.

He championed inclusivity in sailing, and was a driving force in the waterwise programme that brought sailing to Bermuda’s public school system — a precursor to the Endeavour programme.

Tom Herbert Evans, a colleague and close friend, said: “There are many young, and some old, people that don’t realise the opportunities that he created.

“He mentored and fostered so many young leaders, champions and good people.”

Mr Doughty credited his childhood job working in the Piggly Wiggly supermarket, which his father managed, for helping to give him a grass roots insight into the community.

After graduating from Warwick Academy in 1969, Mr Doughty qualified for his two passions with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Sculpture degree from the Parsons School of Design in New York, and his Bermuda pilot’s licence in 1977.

That same year, he started teaching adult sailing courses at Salt Kettle Yacht Charters, and operated the 56ft charter yacht Bright Star from 1988 to 2002.

A painter and sculptor, Mr Doughty was director of the Dockyard Arts Centre from 1980 to 1985 and was instrumental as a curator at the Bermuda National Gallery.

In the 1990s, he began coaching young sailors on Optimist dinghies, and went from being one of the founders of the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association to team leader and representative of Bermuda at the World Optimist Championships.

Mr Doughty prided himself on his work with young people through the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, where he was also the club’s archivist.

He helped create the island’s first Royal Yachting Association training centre — bringing the island a programme for gaining internationally recognised qualifications.

“Taking kids from varied social backgrounds and bringing them together as a working team, preparing them for the broad spectrum of life’s experiences, and giving Bermuda good young minds prepared for the challenges of their generation is my focus,” he said.

He taught courses in design, drawing and sculpture at the Bermuda College from 1985 to 1989.

Mr Doughty worked with other artists to bring striking works of art from private collections before the public at the Bermuda National Gallery.

Shows that he curated included a major exhibition of maritime artwork and models chosen from a string of collections.

Mr Doughty also championed the island’s Portuguese culture.

Of third-generation Portuguese descent, he helped organise the landmark “Window on the Azores” exhibition at the BNG in 1999.

“We felt it was important to bring this show to Bermuda so that they can see there is a very healthy artistic community in the Azores with a very strong connection to the older cities of Europe,” Mr Doughty said at the time.

“We are now in a position to have closer cultural ties.”

Mr Doughty’s extensive knowledge of maritime history came to the fore in a 2013 RBYC exhibition that he organised, showcasing the island’s seafaring past.

The labour of love included the brass steering wheel from the iconic luxury liner Queen of Bermuda, that served the island until the 1960s — and symbolised a different age of sea travel.

As well as sitting on the Bermuda Water Safety Council, Mr Doughty was a volunteer marshal when Bermuda hosted the 2017 America’s Cup.

The races gave him an opportunity to write for The Royal Gazette on Bermuda’s sailing history.

Mr Doughty leaves behind his two sons, John-Paul and James, brother Allan Doughty, grandchildren Arya and Arthur, and partner Heather.

• Paul Henry Doughty, an artist, pilot and sailing teacher, was born on October 26, 1952. He died on January 2, 2024, aged 71