Thanks to John Dennis, RCC now has its only picture of the Lark, a 2 person gaff-rigged catboat that had the longest longevity in or around the club, from about 1905 to 1971. Fifteen were built for the Sodus Bay YC in 1903 at a cost of $90 each, and started racing there in 1904 as a one design boat with no change permitted in size, shape, material, weight of hull or position of rudder, centerboard, sail, spars or ballast as built. It was a low, flat scow, 16 ft. long by 6 ft. wide and only 6 in. off the water, with a mast height of about 16 ft. and 150 SF of sail.

Larks were raced on Irondequoit Bay under the auspices of the Irondequoit Yacht Association (formed 1903) which ran races alternating between Point Pleasant and Newport. Harry Stewart of RCC was secretary-treasurer, and other RCC members included Emil Boller and Fred Wolters. This was long before the Algonquin (1933) and Newport Clubs (1936) but there were many other small clubs on the bay that made this an efficient arrangement. By 1908, 5 to 7 Larks were racing regularly on the bay on 12 days from Memorial to Labor Day, in a series called "scalp races" after the flags awarded each day. In the 1930's, RCC raced Larks with Irondequoit CC (across from Newport), and Comets with Algonquin YC at Pt. Pleasant, with the races rotating between clubs. By 1952, only 3 Larks were left at RCC and Thistles prevailed thereafter.

One of the last Larks was brought into the club by John Dennis with co-owners Warren Wightman and Jack Prewitt who all joined in 1957. John and Jack bought their 1/4 shares from Warren for $25 each, which made the boat value $100. In the picture, that's Warren forward and John aft. They didn't race it, but soon traded it for a Comet. John went on to own a White Cap (made by Old Town Canoe), Thistles 458 and 1857, a Sunfish and North Star. About that White Cap: it's not a canoe, but a 13 1/2 ft. sailboat of the same type that crossed the Atlantic in 1965. Read the book, "Tinkerbelle", by John Manry, who did it alone in 78 days, but don't try this yourself.

The last Lark was called Hark, owned by Toby and Alice Hill, whose brother Porter Ramsay had the same Lark and was Commodore in 1939. No Larks were listed at RCC after 1971.

Leo Balandis, December 10, 2000