Mass. Sen. Kennedy competing in Cape sailboat race

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Sen. Edward Kennedy felt well enough Monday after his brain cancer diagnosis to compete in the second day of an annual sailboat race between Nantucket and Cape Cod.

The Massachusetts Democrat and a boatload of supporters took a ferry out of Hyannis to compete in the final half of the so-called "Figawi" race.

A spokeswoman said those joining Kennedy on his sloop "Mya" for the sail home would be his wife, Vicki, sons Edward Jr. and Patrick, and stepdaughter, Caroline Raclin. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, a close family friend, also was with the group.

Kennedy asked about competing in the race last week, before doctors determined he suffered from a malignant brain tumor.

He ended up skipping the first part of the race Saturday, as well as a commencement address he was slated to deliver Sunday at Wesleyan University. Instead, Kennedy asked Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama to address the graduates — including stepdaughter Caroline — at the Middletown, Conn., campus.

Asked why Kennedy took to the seas on Monday, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said, "The wind was just right."

Kennedy spent the Memorial Day weekend at his family compound on the Cape as doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital complete a treatment plan.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_go_co/kennedy_figawi [link]