RUSC has 2 flights of Lark II boats which can carry 2 crew members each.  Larks were initially designed in 1966 by a chap called Michael Jackson (honest!).

Theoretically we therefore have 12 boats (there are 6 boats in each flight) but, in reality, we normally have about 10 boats that we can sail - the others are normally being repaired after over-zealous sailors have managed to injure them!  On top of this we have a few very old boats that we wreck in order to maintain the others on the water.  They are durable and reliable boats which can put up with pretty much anything that you throw at them and are wonderfully simple boats - they don't have a trapeze for example!

This means that we can accommodate 20 people on the water at once as well as the mandatory 2 people in the safety boat making sure that everyone is okay and ticking the health and safety forms.  Each boat has a helm (the person who steers the boat) and also a crew member who sets the jib, looks after the centre-board and uses their weight to ensure that the boat is balanced!

The boats are excellent for learner sailors as they can be taught by an experienced sailor in the boat and, as the boats are reasonably sized, can accommodate most sizes of people.

When we have our fabulous (normally over subscribed) event each year, The Wet Dream, we get Fireflies in as they are currently the British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) dingy class boats.