They cruised as a family aboard At Last all the way from Washington to Alaska, gunkholing up the spectacular Inside Passage. But when it came time to take the boat back, ol' Dad made the two-week solo run from Prince Rupert, B.C., back to Bellingham.

In recent years DeLayne has often sailed solo in the waters of Puget Sound and occasionally makes a pilgrimage around the rough and rowdy backside of Vancouver Island to Barclay Sound.

Singlehanding to Kauai will be one of the most challenging feats DeLayne has ever undertaken, but it's certainly not his only ambitious adventure. He's run a marathon, biked from Washington to California ("before it was fashionable") and took his family car-camping through every state in the union - except Ohio, for some reason - over two summers.

Although he's a self-described "rookie", he has developed his own unique philosophy. "She's not a fast boat, but I'm going to try to beat them all mentally," he explains. If he hears complaints over the net about the lack of creature comforts, he plans to talk about how wonderful his hot shower was. When someone mentions the K-rations they've just had for dinner, he'll chime in a description of the ice cream he's just taken from his freezer! And if the wind goes light, causing others frustration, he'll just pop in one of the 40 action videos he plans to take along.

DeLayne's wife, Pam and daughters Krista, 19, and DeLayne Marie, 15, will meet him after the race for a Hawaiian respite, after which he'll sail At Last home with a couple of friends. Being a teacher, he'll have the rest of the summer to get there.

Navigation: Magellan 5000D GPS, Garmin II GPS, sextant. Steering: primary: Monitor Windvane; secondary: Autohelm 5000 ST+.
Food: Frozen pre-made meals, snacks, PBJ with frozen strawberry and raspberry jams.
Special thanks to: Pam, Krista, DeLayne Marie, Rodney, Dan, Mike2, Tim, Roger and Dave.