Nicholas Baker was a London yacht broker involved in the sale and purchase of some of the world’s most opulent yachts.

In 2001 he was found to have lung cancer, and he responded by founding a charity, the AquaLung Trust, and sailing single-handed — despite being a novice — across the Atlantic to raise money for it. The crossing and a number of other activities organised by the trust raised almost half a million pounds.

Nicholas Paul Baker was born in 1958. He was educated at Eton and Hertford College, Oxford, where he read French and Russian, which were to prove extremely useful in his later career. He then entered the City as a ship broker before moving into equity sales.

In 1988, murmuring that he was weary of “short lunches and long hours”, he switched to yacht broking, joining Camper and Nicholsons International. A gentlemanly, understated presence, he became one of London’s most successful brokers.

Working at the top end of the market, he was involved in the sale and commissioning of some of the largest yachts of recent years. He had an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of big yachts and their owners, and was often interviewed by the media.

When lung cancer was diagnosed — “a bit of a surprise” for a non-smoker — a part of his right lung was removed. In April 2003 the cancer returned, this time in both lungs. But Baker did not give in to self-pity; instead he used his City contacts to acquire a yacht, renamed her AquaLung and started to learn the ropes of sailing. Ansbacher, the banking group, provided sponsorship and Pantaenius Insurance covered him.

Asked by The Times about the psychology behind the voyage he said that he had always had a charitable urge and that defiance was a motivator.

After the worst storms in the area for years, Baker’s voyage started at Las Palmas in January 2005, and he kept a web diary throughout. In quieter moments he read, contemplated the possibility of sea nymphs and recited the poetry of Keats, Kipling and Masefield to himself. He also listened to Beethoven and the rock group Keane at full blast. Rations on board included caviar, vodka, baked beans and Bendicks Bittermints.

On the day he arrived, 19 days and 2,800 miles later, in English Harbour, Antigua — where he was met by escort harbour boats and an official delegation from the Government of Antigua and Barbuda — he wrote: “I do not know how, or indeed if, I will ever be able to do justice in words to the day. It was beyond extraordinary.”

The AquaLung Trust, which was formed to handle fundraising, has helped to provide computers for the genome project at the Institute of Cancer Research, financed an Encompass project to promote understanding and tolerance between young people of different backgrounds, faiths and cultures, and aided Merlin by funding a health clinic in Darfur, purchasing an ambulance in Liberia and this month providing 600 anti-cholera vaccines in Burma. Baker returned after his voyage to yacht broking, and continued to work until his death.

He will be remembered by all who knew him for his enduring charm, his quick wit and his great integrity. The Superyacht Skills Foundation has announced that it will give an annual award in his memory to its most successful apprentice.

Baker married, in 1987, Karen Hartwell, who survives him together with two daughters and a son.

Nicholas Baker, yacht broker, was born on June 24, 1958. He died of cancer on May 17, 2008, aged 49