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Bury Lake Young Mariners is an RYA-certified sailing school and training centre for people of aged 7+ that has been in operation since 1983 at Bury Lake at 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 has no paid staff, and is run entirely by over 300 volunteers. [1]
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]
The charity was one of five finalists for Club of the Year, awarded by the Royal Yachting Association. [4]
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 July 2024, The Boathouse and the Wetzone have been completed whilst the New Clubhouse is yet to be started.
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.
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 etc.
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.
Currently, the club consists of;
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:
The current chairman is Mark Colston, replacing David Ridout in the summer of 2024. The first chairman of the club was Dr. Ken Smith, a chemistry teacher at Rickmansworth School
BLYM has an active youth team consisting of around 5 young instructors at any one time to discuss issues of the younger generations and to also ensure that young members of the club and instructors are represented properly.
Rickmansworth is a town in south-west Hertfordshire, England, located approximatly 17 miles (27 km) north-west of central London, 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Watford and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne.
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