Adrian Fisher, founder of the Antibes-based yacht crew placement agency that bears his name, died in his sleep in early March. He was 63.

"It was terribly unexpected," said Eleanor Bloodworth, Mr. Fisher's personal assistant. "He hasn't been ill. No one thought he would be leaving us so soon."

Known among megayacht crew for his terrific memory and love of fine food and wine, Mr. Fisher used an old world approach to service what he considered an old world industry.

" Adrian was a thoughtful, kind person," said Ann-Wallis White, a charter broker in Annapolis . "He was kind to people he didn't have to be kind to. He was kind to people for whom he could do something. It's the cornerstone of how this industry got started, and that's not how it is now."

Several of his colleagues said they will remember his charming demeanor, passion for the industry and kind heart.

"He was one of those incessant workers; wherever you are, he was always working," said Sarah Sebastian, director of Nicholson Yachts in Antigua . "He launched a lot of people in this industry and he took care of people as well. He was never judgmental and always supportive. He gave really good advice.

"It's not so much that I've lost a friend, it's that the industry has lost someone it could have used a little bit longer," she said. "Some people starting out now will never have the guidance and stewardship of their careers that Adrian offered a lot of people. I'm sorry for that loss because there are too few people like that."

Mr. Fisher also quietly supported several charities and families in Antigua , a place he worked and lived in over his career. When she asked, White said Mr. Fisher helped with scholarships to the Juniors Sailing Program and for local children to go to private school, and he gave funds and books for children in out-lying villages.

But true to form, he didn't tell people about those things. Sebastian, who lives year-round in Antigua and knew Fisher well, did not know he helped local children in that way.

"He was very private," she said. "There were a lot of sides to him."

Mr. Fisher was found the morning of March 9, lying on his sofa with the television and his computer on.

In the days following his death, his closest acquaintances in Antibes could not locate his next of kin. An e-mail was sent out to his database seeking information about his past, which annoyed some of his friends who thought it inappropriate.

"If he left his life behind, he did so for his own reasons," White said. "He'd be mortified to know everyone is speculating about his past. It's no one's business. Taken at face value – one dimensional or not – he offered considerably more than most."

It is unlikely his agency can continue. Bloodworth was his only employee and Mr. Fisher handled all the crew placement work personally.

"He had an amazing facility for remembering people and faces," said Capt. John Campbell of the 35m S/Y Laymar II . "It is easy now with a good database, but back then computers were in their comparative infancy, and Adrian worked very successfully with his own mental database."

He likely will be remembered for his approach to crew placement. According to several captains and crew who consulted with him about their careers, Mr. Fisher was dedicated to finding the perfect match.

" Adrian prided himself on choosing just one candidate to fill a position," Campbell said. "Unlike a lot of crew agencies, he did not send a pile of CVs and leave the owner or skipper to sift through the candidates.

"I can remember on several occasions that he would laughingly say that he was the least successful crew agency in the business," he said. "An agency actually makes more money if they are less successful in placing their candidates – a steady turnover of crew ensures a steady income – but that was not Adrian 's way."

His way was more personal, more professional, more traditional.

"He was a proper English gentleman and an old school yachtie," Bloodworth said. "He was a lover of everything that had style and he was an absolute perfectionist in every aspect of his life, from his home to the bottle of wine to have with lunch."

She remembered fondly the afternoon he announced he wanted to celebrate his company's 10 th anniversary. The actual anniversary was in November; this afternoon was decidedly before that.

"He really wanted to go to this restaurant [Louis XV in the Hotel de Paris in Monaco ] so he said let's go celebrate," she said with a laugh. "It was just the two of us. He used to take me to lunch all the time under false pretenses. He was famous for saying let's go have a quick sandwich, and then we'd be off to a three-star restaurant.

"He was a lovely man to work for," she said. "We had a lot of fun. I'll miss him greatly."

A memorial service was held in Cannes on March 24, and he was laid to rest at Le Grand Vallon cemetery in Mougins. Perhaps his greatest legacy will simply be the way he treated people.

"What we need to take away from this is to behave better toward each other," White said. "Take a page from his book and be kind to people when you have the opportunity.

"We've lost too many people who were part of the solution, not part of the problem," White said, referring to Rupert Deverteuil, Desmond Nicholson and now Adrian Fisher, all of whom passed away this winter. "All three of them were people who gave more than they took. And there aren't many of them left."

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.