Storck Sets His Sights—and Sails— for The 2012 Olympics in London

As the 2010 Winter Olympics are taking place in Vancouver, one person in Huntington looks on with a somewhat different perspective than most. Meet Erik Storck, a sailboat racer who is looking to make the Olympic team in time for the next Olympic Games in London.

The Storck family has a long tradition in sailing. Everyone is involved. Storck's family established the sailing team at St. Anthony's High School in South Huntington. Erik's parents, John Storck Jr., and wife Colette, brought each child aboard the family cruiser-racer Jonrob, when they were babies. The kids learned the basic fundamentals of sailing while cruising Long Island Sound aboard the Ericson
39, and were later introduced to the competitive side of the sport as crew  for their father when he raced in local events sponsored by Centerport Yacht Club or Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club.

At age seven, Erik began the "Learn to Sail" program at the Centerport Yacht Club. He then joined the Cow Harbor Sailing Team , which has now morphed in to the Long Island Sound Optimist Team, moving on to bigger and faster boats and where he would travel to competitions around the nation into his teenage years. He then went on to attend Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and was a member of the sailing team for all four years he spent there, earning an Honorable Mention All-American award. He was also acknowledged as a three time All-American skipper, and was twice named a finalist for College Sailor of the Year.

After graduation, Erik went on to coach sailing at Stanford University in California for two years, and then decided to sail full time on the Olympic-class craft known as the "49er." Storck and teammate Trevor Moore are part of US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, and their goal is the summer games in 2012.

National qualifiers will take place in August and December of 2011. The stakes are high. "Only one boat from each nation gets to go," in to the Olympic Games from there, says Storck.

2010 has been a busy year so far for Erik and Trevor.  In January they took place in "49er World Championship" off of Grand Bahaman Island, and then traveled to Miami to compete in the "49er North American Championship." They were able to stay in the area for the "Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta," which took place January 25th.

In addition to a very busy travel schedule; Erik has much boat-related business to attend to.  When he sails internationally, for example, the boats must be shipped in pods. He must then make sure his detailed itinerary accounts for all contingencies, and then fly to meet up with his vessel.  Says Erik, "at times it's overwhelming. It's like they say, 'nothing worth doing is ever easy.'"

"Sailing is both very physical and mental…very high-performance, very fast." It requires a lot of cardiovascular work and core work." So, when he's home, Erik takes time to work out at the Huntington YMCA.

What does he think when he watches the Winter Games on television? "It really reminds me of why I'm doing this."

What about eventually winning a medal for his country? "It's hard to put into words, what that would feel like."

He hopes he can count on plenty of Huntington residents to cheer him on.

You can find out much more about Erik Storck, Trevor Moore, and their adventures at www.storckmooresailing.com