Chris Law was a British sailor.

Often described as the most gifted sailor of his generation, Chris Law's talent was sometimes overshadowed by his bad luck and volatile temperament.

He committed suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 at Lake Constance

Lake Constance

Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...

 in 2007 and is survived by two daughters and one son.

Sailing career

Law started sailing, crewed by his younger brother Tim, in the Cadet dinghy

Cadet (dinghy)

The Cadet is a junior trainer sailing dinghy designed by Jack Holt, in 1947, who was commissioned to design it by Yachting World-magazine.-Background:The boat is crewed by two people and sails with a bermuda rigged mainsail, jib and spinnaker...

 on the Thames at Teddington

Teddington

Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...

. He came 5th in the Cadet World Championship in Spain in 1969 and 2nd in the 1970 Cadet World Championship in Hobart

Hobart

Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...

, Australia.

He then moved on to the Finn class

Finn (dinghy)

The Finn dinghy is the men's single-handed, cat-rigged Olympic class for sailing. It was designed by Swedish canoe designer, Rickard Sarby, in 1949 for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki...

, where he narrowly missed Olympic qualification in 1972 and 1976. During this time his first daughter Charlotte was born. He won the Finn Gold Cup in 1976 at the age of 23, one of the youngest ever winners, and then became the father of his second daughter - Amy. He qualified for the Olympics in 1980 and then suffering the misfortune of being prevented from competing by the Moscow Olympic boycott. Law had been seen as a strong candidate for a medal. He sailed a Soling

Soling

A Soling is a class of open keelboat designed by Jan Linge of Norway in 1965. In 1968, it was chosen from among many other boats to be the men's triple-handed boat for the 1972 Olympics...

 in the 1984 Olympics, coming 4th and again missing a medal.

Law sailed in the 1983 and 1987 America's Cup

America's Cup

The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...

 campaigns on the British challengers Victory and White Crusader. He also sailed in the 1995 campaign in the Australian challenger Sydney '95 before leaving after a dispute with the campaign management. During the 1990s he was a highly ranked match racer and won the 1994 Congressional Cup, one of the oldest and most prestigious match racing regattas.

He also sailed in several Admiral's Cup

Admiral's Cup

The Admiral's Cup is an international yachting regatta. For many years it was known as the unofficial world championship of offshore racing. The Admiral's Cup regatta was started in 1957 and was normally a biennial event which was competed for between national teams. However the event was not...

 campaigns, with varied success, including sailing in the famous 1979 Fastnet Race

Fastnet race

The Fastnet Race is a famous offshore yachting race. It is considered one of the classic offshore races. It takes place every two years over a course of . The race starts off Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England, rounds the Fastnet Rock off the southwest coast of Ireland and then finishes at...

. Possibly his most notorious Admiral's Cup campaign came in 1999 when he had a tempestuous time and was blamed for losing the Admiral's Cup for Britain. He announced his retirement from international representative sailing after that event.

Law was a popular television commentator for the 2000 America's Cup

2000 America's Cup

The 30th America's Cup was contested between the holder, Team New Zealand, and the winner of the 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup, Prada Challenge.-Races:-Team New Zealand:* Sailed in Race 5-Prada Challenge:-References:*...

 in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand and a successful competitor on the World Match Racing Tour

World Match Racing Tour

The World Match Racing Tour is a professional sailing series, featuring 9 World Championship events across the globe, sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation with “Special Event” status...

, where he won 12 Category One events.