Amazing, fellow Jumbo sailors at Tufts (the kids) and enthusiastic J/80
sailors, win Scuttlebutt's first Sailing Family of the Year Award for
2010! That's cool! Huge! Awesome! Simply fantastic as far as the
J/Community sees it. The Storck's not only get a commemorative SFOTY
trophy (not that they need any more), but they'll get outfitted in gear
courtesy of award sponsor Atlantis WeatherGear, Camet International and
Harken.As Scuttlebutt Editor, Craig Leweck, describes, "This is the inaugural year for this award, and based on the sheer number of submissions, this type of recognition is long overdue. During the review process, it quickly became evident that determining a winner would not be the mission of the judges, but rather to recognize one family this year, and to look forward to recognizing many more in the future.
The Storck family received wide spread support though numerous submissions. One nominee considered them "probably sailing family of the decade". Another nominee remarked, "As soon as I read the description for this (award), the first family that jumped to mind is the Storck family." A third said, "This is a total no-brainer. Super sailors across the board and nice people. What else could you ask for?" And on and on it went. We at J/Boats couldn't agree more.
While success in the sport was not a vital component of the award, there is a lot of success in this clan. Whether sailing together, like they did winning the J/80 North Americans and finishing 12th in the World Championship, or following their individual pursuits, the Storck family is
bonded by the sport.
John Storck Jr., has said on many occasions that it is truly a blessing that his four children have taken to sailing with such enthusiasm. However, it is no accident that John III, Erik, Kaity and Ian Storck have come to love sailing as much as their father. All four were introduced to the sport in a positive environment that fostered a passion. He has watched their collective sailing experiences define their individual personalities and the relationships among them. "It's because of the sailing that they're all very close," he says, "and it's because of the sailing that they have the utmost respect for each other, on and off the water."
John 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. "Our kids literally grew up on the Jonrob doing summer cruises and were able to experience sailing in its purest form," Storck said.
All four children attended sailing school to further hone their skills, learning how to steer and trim in the Optimist dinghy and Club 420 classes. During those years, John Jr and Colette were the absolute antithesis of the infamous "helicopter parents", who push their kids to compete and focus solely on results. "When my kids were junior sailors, I rarely ever went to the regatta unless I was working on the race committee," Storck said. "If John and Erik were doing a big regatta, I would take Kaity and Ian to the zoo. My wife and I never wanted to put any pressure on the kids." Read more about the 2010 SFOTY - The Storck family.