KEN SWAN ’72
Meet Captain Ken and the Reluctant Sailor
Voyage of a Lifetime BY ELIZABETH WILSON TAVILOGLU P’19
For many, international travel is more often a dream than a reality. But, sometimes, in between our daily obligations and the humdrum of our 9-to-5s, the hidden adventurer within us still gazes out the window, dreaming of dropping everything just to travel the world. For one Storm King alumnus and his wife, the idea of circumnavigating the globe by sailboat had been on the table since they first met, not to be uttered again for the next three decades. Then, following successful careers and 30 years of marriage, the dream resurfaced with a vengeance. So, the couple bought themselves a sailboat, retrofitted her, and the rest is history. If you can keep up the pace, cruise along with us to see how this chemical engineer-turned sailor with a knack for fixing things realized his life-long dream and sparked the imaginations of our students and the hidden adventurer in all of us.
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hroughout the school year, Thursday nights at the Walter Reade Jr. Theatre are set aside for the community to come together and enjoy engaging presentations, impactful speakers, games, and other events. That was certainly the case on the evening of September 26, 2019, when the School hosted two very special guests as the year’s first Thursday Night Speakers— Storm King alumnus Ken Swan ’72 and his wife Eileen. Affectionately known in cruising circles as “Captain Ken and the Reluctant Sailor,” the couple returned to campus after many years to share their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned while sailing around the world. “Whatever your dream is, if you are Ken Swan, you can make it happen,” explained Eileen in her opening words. “We first met in Ireland when Ken informed me we would be sailing around the world someday– and then did not mention it again for more than 30 years,” she joked. “In December of 2014, Ken retired and everything changed. Before a group of friends he announced, finally, that we would sail around the world. So, in 2015, we bought a sailboat and the rest is history.”
sks.org / ON THE MOUNTAIN / Fall 2019 / 5
