Canon William Gulliford writes:

THE Revd Augustine Christopher Caradoc Courtauld, Chaplain of Trinity College, Cambridge, and the London Hospital, and Vicar of St Paul's, Knightsbridge, in London, died peacefully, surrounded by his family, on 11 January, aged 79.

At the funeral in St Catherine's Gosfield, in Essex, where generations of the Courtauld family are buried, Christopher's old friend the Very Revd John Drury said that, like Falstaff, Christopher was often "the cause, that wit is in other men".

Christopher's kindly humour, his self-effacing years of service as a priest, and his love of the sea and of sailing, combined with an instantly recognisable sincerity and holiness, endeared him to an enormous range of people. A refrain in the many tributes that have been paid since his death has been how his personal holiness and true gentility touched all he met.

Christopher grew up in Essex, the son of an explorer, sailor, and adventurer, August Courtauld. After his death, aged 54, when Christopher was 24, Christopher's mother, Mollie, married R. A. Butler, then Home Secretary.

Aged 13, on a family summer voyage aboard his father's much loved 50-ft yawl Duet, Christopher contracted polio. Its effects remained with him all his life. The lack of mobility never hindered his skippering of many summer sailing expeditions with family and friends; neither did it hold him back while Vicar of St Paul's, Knightsbridge, climbing a long and perilous ladder into the tower to change the clock in spring and autumn.

Christopher began by reading law at Trinity College, Cambridge, but felt a call to ministry, and changed to Theology. He then went to Westcott House, and from there to serve as curate of the parish church in Oldham. The Dean of Trinity, Harry Williams, invited him to return as Chaplain to Trinity, where his pastoral care and deep faith touched a generation of undergraduates. Among those whom he prepared for confirmation was Richard Chartres.

In 1968, Christopher became a chaplain of the London Hospital, a post that he held for 12 years. His ministry on the wards was extremely conscientious, and many of the clinical staff at that time speak of his unstinting care for patients. A psychiatric nurse told of how he stayed all night with a disturbed patient, who for part of the time insisted on ballroom dancing.

His ministry was as much with the staff and medical students; Christopher ran a Christian Centre, which organised discussions and debates on a range of subjects that connected faith with their work. Christopher retained a deep affection for the East End, for its maritime connections, and the succession of newcomers to London who had settled there, not least his own ancestors, whose first homes had been in Spitalfields. Towards the end of his time as chaplain, he met and later became engaged to Dr Elizabeth Molland, a pathologist at the hospital.

The congregation of St Paul's, Knightsbridge had been divided: half of them wanted a married priest, and half of them wanted a bachelor, to be appointed to follow Donald Harris. Indeed, Christopher was a bachelor when he was instituted, and married Elizabeth two weeks later - a story that he occasionally delighted in telling.

The choral Anglo-Catholic tradition of St Paul's, Knightsbridge, was not one that Christopher was steeped in, but he maintained with great care the character of the worship. The more worldly aspects of ministering in Knightsbridge were of little consequence to him. Far more important was the preservation of the long-standing tradition of the daily eucharist and the faithful recitation of the Office, which it was my great privilege to share in saying with him.

These constants were the bedrock of his ministry and the framework of a constant Christ-centred witness; the weddings and memorial services held in the church could not help but be directly affected by this.

Christopher's tireless ministry was complemented by a passion not just for sailing, but for making it possible for underprivileged young people to become acquainted with the sea. Duet has been used by two seafaring charities. The first Christopher co-founded with Chris Ellis: the Ocean Youth Trust; the second was the Cirdan Sailing Trust.

Duet is now the longest-serving sail training vessel in Britain. In 2012, her centenary was marked by a round-Britain voyage, and in 2013 Duet won an award as the oldest boat in the Fastnet Race, to Christopher's complete delight. He would often say that salt water ran in his veins.

Christopher retired from St Paul's in 1999, to Suffolk, and to a house that had once been the home of Arthur Ransome. He assisted in local parishes, and was greatly loved by the congregation of St Peter's, Levington. He was the eldest son of six children: he has been informal chaplain to the wider family.

His great pride in the professional achievements of his wife, Elizabeth, and his daughters - Catharine, a midwife, and Sarah, a children's author - were evident to all. He was a very proud grandfather of Eliza and Beatrice. All who have known him count themselves most fortunate.

A memorial requiem will be sung at St Paul's, Knightsbridge, on 23 April at 3 p.m., in the presence of the Bishop of London.