The BLYM Archives
There are records of sailing on Bury Lake, from the early 1930's. We are soon to approach the 100 year mark... but how much do we really know?
There is no doubt that in dusty cabinets, forgotten attics and camera film now sitting forever in landfill - that there are important photographs, documents, artifacts and other pieces of memorabilia that reveal hidden secrets of the past life of Bury Lake (and the surrounding aquadrome).
Whilst BLYM has only been in operation since 1983, there are approximately 20 or so years unaccounted for, information wise (from 83' to the turn of the millennium), aside from the testimony of the last few who bore witness the club in its infancy.
Even in the early 2000s, as information became heavily digitized, there was still much that was missing, or has been forgotten. There are, however, a few select documents that have somehow been preserved, that begin to give you, the reader, an insight into what life may have been like, at our sailing club, at that time!
Did you know, for example, that in 2002, BLYM became a 'Limited' organisation, with the set of 'officers' (trustees) at the time, being - Michael 'Mick' Hamilton, Malcolm Talbot, Alan Russell, Peter Lincoln, Roland Sweet, Steve Albon, Gwendoline 'Gwen' Miles, Ray Buksh, Rod Robinson and Ron Pym? All have since left or passed away, with only Malcolm Talbot remaining involved in the club, as of April 2025. Or, did you know that the first chairman of the club was a Dr. Ken Smith - a chemistry teacher at Rickmansworth school?
As I'm sure you'd agree, archives are an integral part of any charity or organization and it's only right that it's kept going, if for no other reason than for the future generations to look back and experience the rich history that preceded them.
This page may seem a bit random and disorganized, but it is a (no doubt pompous sounding) 'living document'. Our hope is that it will be added to, and never taken away from.
And here, our first document - a copy of the 'JIBSHEET' newsletter, that ran from the late 80s to 2013. It contained all of the information that members' needed to know - much as our newsletter runs today, but it had sections devoted to short pieces that young instructors would write - usually about an upcoming trip, a report, an interesting topic or so on and so forth.
This particular copy is from late 2009 (written during just before the club would have closed for the winter). It is a little misleading, however - it still has the 25th anniversary banner - showing '1983 - 2008', despite this article coming out a year later. It seems so long ago now, as in the year of writing (2025), we are moving into our 42nd year of the club's operation!
On the left hand side, we see an 'expedition to Tollesbury', which used to be run, most years. Tollesbury is south of Colchester and quite near to Mersea (and the famous island).
Usually, it would be a long weekend of sailing, racing and fun activities for instructors of all ages.
Impressively, on most editions of the expedition - everyone got to stay on a 'lightship', which is a boat that serves as a lighthouse. The one in Tollesbury is run and maintained by a charitable trust - which is one of the reasons that the location was chosen.
Despite the fact that this trip has not been run in the last ten years, we do hope one day, that it can be bought back!
Not from this trip in 2009 - but from 2015, there is an image of all of the instructors together, standing on the Tollesbury lightship.
Top row (left to right) - ?, J. Owen, G. Ivory, A. Willis, A. Matthews, F. Crane, M. Vincent-Edwards, J. Harker, C. Hallett, P. Childerhouse
Middle (left to right) - G. Jones, B. Salva, M. Crowder, K. MacManus, S. King, D. Willis, J. Willis, P. Matthews
Bottom row (left to right) - ?, T. Barnes, E. Zamburlin, K. Zamburlin
In the bottom right hand corner (of the newsletter), we can see the 'laying up supper', a tradition that has been run for many years - a celebration of the season's achievements. The difference, most notably, is the fact that it was held in the clubhouse! In recent years, it has been held at various pubs and events spaces, however with increasing costs - we may see a return to BLYM!
Last updated 23:36 on 27 March 2025