Nigel was educated at Clifton College in Bristol, England. He entered the sailing world professionally after receiving a diploma in Boatyard Management at Southampton College of Technology. A prolific career of designing and building numerous highly successful racing multihull sailboats has led to Nigel being recognized as the worlds leading designer of multihulled sail and power vessels.

A partial list of which includes:
1982 40ft. trimaran ‘It 82’ class winner of Round Britain race.
1983 80ft. catamaran ‘Formula Tag’ winner of Monaco to York race. Holder of world record for distance sailed in 24hrs. until 1994.
1985 60ft. racing trimaran ‘Apricot’ winner of Round Britain race.
1986 75ft. racing trimaran ‘Fleury Michon VII’ 1st in ‘Silk Cut Brighton to London Race’. 1st overall in ‘Route du Rum’ single handed St. Malo to Guadeloupe. Holder of West-East Transatlantic sailing record 1987 to 1988.
1988 60ft. racing trimaran ‘Fujicolor’ winner of Grand Prix de Brest
1988 60ft. racing trimaran ‘Fleury Michon IX’ winner of ‘Carlsberg Single Handed Transatlantic Race’, beating record by 6 days.
1988 ‘Ilan Voyager’ wins Round Britain powerboat race
1991 ‘Fujicolor II’ wins ‘Trophée des Multicoques’.
1992 'Fujicolor II’ wins ’Europe 1 Single-Handed Transatlantic Race’.
1993 ‘Fujicolor II’ wins ‘U.A.P. Round Europe Race’.
1994 ‘Enza New Zealand’ (ex-Formula Tag’) wins ‘Jules Verne Trophy’ for the fastest ever circumnavigation of the world under sail.
1996 ‘Fujicolor’, ’Banque Populaire’ and ‘La Trinitaine’ 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in ‘Europe 1 Single-Handed Race’.
1996 ‘Fujicolor’, ’Banque Populaire’, and ‘Region Haute Normandie’ 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in ‘Quebec to St. Malo Race’.
1997 ‘Fujicolor’, ‘Corum Watches’, ’Bank Populaire’, and ‘La Trinitaine’ 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th respectively in ‘U.A.P. Round Europe Race’.
1998 ‘Cable And Wireless’ 35meter power trimaran wins world record for circumnavigation in 74days