F. Chesley White, a former partner at Appleby and a keen sailor, has died at the age of 69.

A supporter of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, Mr White “came from a legacy of congeniality and storytelling”, Sloop Foundation cofounder Malcolm Kirkland recalled.

Mr Kirkland added: “The acid test of a person is whether you would go to sea with them. Chesley was definitely someone that you would.”

Sailing ran in his blood. Mr White’s grandfather, a former Hamilton mayor who bore the same name, died at the helm of his yacht.

His family ran the Hamilton department store Chesley White, which burnt to the ground in 1970 in one of the biggest fires in the city’s history.

Mr Kirkland was often out on the water with Mr White and remembered sailing with him from Spain to Malta in a fierce gale.

He said: “Sometimes on a ship you get tired, hungry and grumpy, but with ‘Chummy’ I never experienced that.

“He will be a big miss, not just to the foundation and his friends. He would always lift your spirits.”

Mr Kirkland added that Mr White, who specialised in insurance and reinsurance law, was also “the perfect guy to have as a corporate lawyer for an international firm”.

Mr White, who lived with his wife Gillian at Knapton Hill in Smith’s, also went to sea with prize-winning sailor Warren Brown, on his vessel War Baby.

Mr White’s death was marked in yesterday’s House of Assembly session by Jeanne Atherden, the Leader of the Opposition.

His family has asked for donations in his memory to be made to the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.