UPDATED - RIP Nicky Henderson 12 March 1971 to 23 March 2025
Published 17:49 on 25 Mar 2025
It is with the greatest sadness that we announce the passing of Nicky Henderson, who lost her long and courageous battle against cancer on Sunday 23 March 2025, aged 54. Nicky died peacefully at St Helena Hospice, with her sons Thomas and Enzo, husband Murray, sister Tania and mother Pat all close by.
UPDATE - A Celebration of Nicky's life will be held at Brightlingsea Sailing Club on Friday 11 April 2025 at 12.15. The dress code will be bright colours and casual clothes and all who knew Nicky are invited to join her family to remember Nicky and celebrate her life.
Nicky burst onto the Brightlingsea sailing scene nearly half a century ago, when she and Tania first joined BSC's Tuesday Night Cadets. The girls always joked that the initial driver for taking part was that sailing was a target rich environment for fit boys, but it wasn't long before both girls had caught the sailing bug. And what great sailors they turned out to be, with each achieving successes across a wide range of dinghy and keelboat classes.
Nicky is impossible to sum up in a few written words. A true force of nature, she was an irrepressible spirit who worked hard, played hard, loved hard and threw herself into everything she did with total commitment. She was straight talking, fun loving and once she'd set her sights on a goal nothing was going to stand in her way.
Her love of sailing took her all over the world and it was through sailing that she met Murray. They travelled the world together from regatta venue to regatta venue, with Nicky taking each move in her stride, making friends wherever she went. As first Thomas and then Enzo came into the world, she created a home for them wherever they found themselves. Her door was always open, and she loved to welcome visiting friends and family wherever they were.
But as the boys grew, their need for a stable education brought the family back to Brightlingsea full time and once again Nicky threw herself into club life. Never one to sit around, she would always offer to lend a hand with whatever needed doing at the club. She had a knack for spotting when people needed help, and an ability to just appear when needed without any fuss or ceremony. Whether it was magically clearing a backlog of dishes in the galley, calmly sorting out some drama with the pumps in the bar or quietly helping a novice sailor rig their boat and launch, she would just appear when she was needed most, get things back on track and leave you feeling so much better than you had before she appeared.
Nicky wasn't the sort of girl to let a little bit of cancer stop her, and throughout her long illness she continued to participate fully in club life, actively sailing for as long as she could, helping with cadet activities, supporting training events and assisting with BSC's special Buoyed Up programme which gives children from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to learn to sail. She had a special ability with children who lack confidence or have behavioural difficulties, and she put this skill to its best use in helping some of the neediest children during these Buoyed Up sessions.
Nicky was a special friend to so many members of the club and she leaves a lasting legacy. Our thoughts are with Murray, Thomas, Enzo, Pat, Tania and her family and friends at this most difficult time.
Last updated 08:56 on 28 March 2025
