Bury Lake Young Mariners

Bury Lake Young Mariners is an RYA certified sailing school and training centre for people of ages 7+ that has been in operation since 1983 at Bury Lake in Rickmansworth Aquadrome, Hertfordshire, England. The charity has more than 100 boats and each year enables around 7,500 mostly young people to go sailing.

BLYM is unique in that it has no paid staff. It is run entirely by over 300 volunteers. ^[1]

Award-winning youth charity[]

2013[]

In 2013, Bury Lake Young Mariners won the prestigious Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.^[2] The award is equivalent to the MBE and is the highest award that can be made to a voluntary group. The award was made for "Assisting with youth development through accessible and affordable sailing and sail training activities".^[3]

2015[]

The charity was one of five finalists for Club of the Year, awarded by the Royal Yachting Association.^[4]

New Building Development[]

General information[]

The Original Clubhouse is now being replaced by three new buildings. The Boathouse, the 'Wetzone' and the New Clubhouse. The ongoing development started in 2017/8 and as of September 2021, The Boathouse and the Wetzone have been completed whilst the New Clubhouse is yet to be started.

Boathouse[]

The new boathouse has replaced the old 'green crate', which was a shipping container that held the club's sailing equipment. This new development has allowed for fleet expansion. The new boathouse also stores BLYM's 9 safety boats.

Wetzone[]

This building currently sits next to the clubhouse, on the opposite side of the site to the boathouse - running alongside Bury Lake. It holds all age changing rooms, bathrooms and a 'Wetstore', holding all of the BLYM owned sailing clothing - Buoyancy aids, Wetsuits e.t.c.

The Future[]

Bury Lake Young Mariners will soon build the final building in the project, which will be the new clubhouse. It will sit facing the 'Wetzone' and consist of classrooms, a galley and more. This will mean that the old club house will be demolished to make room for more boats to be housed and a larger rigging area.

Fleet[]

Sail boats[]

Currently, the club consists of;

• 9 Oppies
• 10 "Funboats"
• 12 Toppers
• 21 Picos
• 9 RS Zests (with more to come in the near future)
• 2 Vagos
• 2 RS200s
• 6 RS Quests - which were the Bahia's replacements
• 6 Wayfarer Mk IVs
• 12 Lasers
• 9 Coypus, currently being refurbished, which are the only remaining boats that were part of the original fleet.

Powered Craft[]

BLYM has a designated fleet of 9 Safety Boats. These are primarily for the safety of sailors and are used to assist and coach people on the water. The fleet consists of;

• 1 Dell Quay Dory 13 with a Yamaha F25 engine,
• 1 Jenneau Rigiflex 370 with a Yamaha F20 engine,
• 1 Jenneau Rigiflex 370 with a Yamaha F8 engine (currently out of action),
• 2 Highfield 380 RIBs with Yamaha F9.9 engines,
• 2 XS 360 RIBs with Yamaha F9.9 engines,
• 2 Avon Rover 340s with Yamaha F9.9 engines
• 1 Tod Launch with a Yanmar Diesel Inboard engine. This is the only powerboat that remains of the original fleet.

Instructor Team[]

Chairman[]

The current chairman is David Rideout. The first chairman of the club was Dr. Ken Smith, a chemistry teacher at Rickmansworth School

Chief Instructor/Club Principle[]

The current chief instructor and club principle is Robert Arthur - (RYA Senior Instructor, RYA Powerboat Instructor, RYA Race Coach, SUP Instructor, CEVNI Examiner)

Youth Team[]

BLYM has an active youth team consisting of a few young instructors to discuss issues of the younger generations and to also ensure that younger members of the club and instructors are represented properly.

References[]