After Oxford, Nickalls joined Leander of which he was Captain in 1892 and 1897 and took the main prizes at Henley Royal Regatta over the next seven years.
After a break of several years, Nickalls was a member of the Leander crew that won the Grand in 1905, but over the next few years the dominant eight in the event was the Belgian crew from Royal Club Nautique de Gand.