For those owning Palm based hand-helds I see three applications that
might work. The one that appears best is "PocketTimer" built by
Stevens Creek Software. This is available from Handango for $50.00

I've downloaded a trial version of this package and it looks really
good. It appears simple enough that a volunteer with little exposure
to a hand-held could manage finish times with a borrowed unit.

With this (or similar) system I could probably single-hand the finish
of a Sound Rower race. I'm thinking of Mickey and me barking away at
each other at the last Lake Samish race while trying hard to also
keep the finish clear of spectators and bandits.

Micheal Lampi, you should get a free race entry for this idea!