Girl's health battle spurs 'Two Guys on the Edge'
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
For the past two weeks, Natalie Frazier had something else to worry about.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Never mind that she continued a daily battle against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, even though it has been in remission since May. Or that she was still trying to regain the strength to return to her favorite activity, swimming. Or that her body still bruises at the slightest bump because of a low white blood-cell count. Or that she still wonders if her hair will grow back to its original blonde, or become brown like her older sister Amelia's.
Natalie Frazier, 12, checks out the Transpac trophy on display at the Waikiki Yacht Club. Frazier, who is in remission from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, was an inspiration for the smallest yacht in the race, Two Guys on the Edge, which finished the Los Angeles-to-Honolulu race yesterday.
Since June 30, the 12-year-old Frazier has been tracking the daily progress of Two Guys on the Edge — the smallest entry in this year's Transpacific Yacht Race. After more than 12 days at sea, Dan Doyle and Bruce Burgess — the only two sailors on board — completed the race yesterday.
"I talked to them two or three times a day," said Frazier, who just completed the sixth grade at Mililani Mauka Elementary. "I usually ask them where they are and I try to find it on my map ... and I ask them how they are doing."
Most times, Doyle and Burgess had more concerns about Natalie.
"We had water on the ground down below (deck) where we sleep, the food was bad, it was very wet and uncomfortable," said Doyle, the owner and skipper of Two Guys on the Edge. "But then we'd think about Natalie and how she fought, and we realized how insignificant all of that really was."
Yet, Doyle and Burgess made it significant.
In an effort to raise awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, they named Frazier an honorary crew member. In May, right around the time when Frazier was completing her 14th month of chemotherapy treatments, Doyle joined the advisory committee of the society's Honolulu chapter.
"The day I met her, I decided I wanted her to be a part of this," he said.
Fittingly, Two Guys on the Edge battled long odds in the Transpac, a biennial race that travels from Los Angeles to Diamond Head, O'ahu — a distance of 2,225 nautical miles. At 30 feet, it was the smallest yacht among the 32 in the fleet, and two sailors is the minimum allowed in Transpac.
"I think they're off the edge," Frazier joked.
The day before the race, she gave them the same advice she has relied on since being diagnosed in April 2000: "Just take it one day at a time."
To be sure, Doyle and Burgess, Kailua residents, sailed on a self-described "modified Hawaiian watch system." While one of them sailed, the other slept. They alternated every three hours, taking only occasional breaks to eat their freeze-dried meals.
"It was working fine up until a few days ago, when we hit the wall," Doyle said.
At that point, Doyle read a poem that Frazier wrote for them:
Sailing across the sea
In inspiration of me
Nothing but water all around
When you return you will be crowned
Keep in touch every day
And remember don't ever quit
Seasick is bad, but sailing is rad
Watch the wave, think of me
And the good person you will always be
"That really was all the motivation we needed," Doyle said. "The wind wasn't there, so it was frustrating, but we knew we had to keep going."
After 12 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes, 19 seconds, Two Guys on the Edge arrived at Diamond Head just before sunrise yesterday. Frazier was there waiting for them, and got to climb aboard the yacht for the first time.
"I know what they did is important," Frazier said. "Not just for me, but for the whole society."
For donations or information on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, call 534-1222.
NOTES: Two Guys on the Edge was the 30th yacht to complete the race. Based on corrected times (which take size and design of each yacht into account), Two Guys placed third in Division 4. ... The final two entries in the fleet are expected to arrive today. ... Pegasus, a new 75-foot yacht, recorded the fastest overall time and won Division 1, which is for the biggest and fastest entries. ... Bull, a 40-foot yacht racing in Division 4, was first overall based on corrected time. ... Other division winners based on corrected times were: Grand Illusion (Division 2), Cantata (Division 3), Willow Wind (Aloha Division A) and Axapac (Aloha Division B). Willow Wind was skippered by Wendy Siegal, who is the first female to win a division since 1959.
