Thirty-three boats began this year's biennial Transpacific Yacht Race, but none can have a more compelling story than the 30-foot sloop entered in the doublehanded division with the appropriate name of "Two Guys on the Edge".

Two Guys is owned by Dan Doyle, a Honolulu businessman and past commodore of the Waikiki Yacht Club. His lone crew member, Bruce Burgess, also works on O`ahu and is a WYC member, so there is a local tie-in.

But there's a lot more to the story than that.

To begin with, it should be understood that the boat's name isn't just a name, it's a description of conditions. When two sailors decide to brave 2,225 miles of open ocean in a high performance 30-foot boat, you do, indeed, have Two Guys on the Edge.

Being on the edge is a requisite when you're trying to keep a boat on course and the sails trimmed while blasting down waves in 20-knot trade winds for days on end and there's no one else to turn to but the other guy.

This year marks the third Transpac start for Two Guys. Doyle and another guy, Patrick Rogers, began the race in 1997, only to have to drop out soon after the start because of a broken rudder.

Then, in 1999, Doyle entered the boat and subsequently found he couldn't break free from business obligations. Two Guys raced anyway, but without its owner.

As luck would have it, the two guys aboard, Burgess and another local sailor, Les Vasconcellos, had perfect conditions and beat their competition to the Diamond Head finish by a remarkable five days.

So this year, Doyle returned to race Transpac vowing that nothing could stop him from doing it this time.

He even fudged a bit on his boat's descriptive name of Two Guys on the Edge by adding another, albeit honorary, member to the team.

Twelve-year-old Natalie Frazier from Mililani - a leukemia survivor - is listed as an honorary crew member with the hope that it will raise both awareness and funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

To keep their additional crew on board, so to speak, Two Guys will stay in touch with Natalie by Ham radio during the course of the race.

"It is our hope that the challenge of our shorthanded effort - along with being the smallest entrant in this year's race - will help draw attention to the many individuals like Natalie, that face such great challenges in the race against blood-related cancers," Doyle said.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest private organization concerned solely with funding research toward cures for blood-related cancers and improving the quality of life of patients and their families.

If you would like to help these two guys and their honorary crew in their race against blood-related cancers, you can get more information, or make a donation, by calling the Honolulu office at (808) 534-1222.

You can also help greet Two Guys on the Edge when it finishes. For its estimated time of arrival, call Transpac Headquarters at 946-9061.