Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, left, sails his schooner, Mya, off Hyannisport, Mass., with his wife, Victoria, yesterday. On Monday he was diagnosed with brain cancer. His wife said Tuesday that he may compete Saturday in an annual race between Hyannis and Nantucket.

NYT / Matthew J. Lee

As Sen. Edward M. Kennedy sailed off his beloved Hyannisport yesterday and readied for his battle against brain cancer, President Bush paid tribute to him at an Oval Office signing ceremony for another in the epic series of laws that bear the Massachusetts Democrat’s fingerprints.

Pen in hand to sign the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, Mr. Bush said he wished to “pay homage” not only to the bipartisan group of legislators on hand for the ritual “but also to Senator Ted Kennedy, who has worked for over a decade to get this piece of legislation to a president’s desk.”

Mr. Bush added, “All of us are so pleased that Senator Kennedy has gone home, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”

Shortly after Mr. Bush spoke at the White House, Kennedy capped an emotional day of transition with a dramatic flourish — going sailing on Nantucket Sound with his wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, aboard his 50-foot wood-hulled schooner, Mya.

“Good to be back home,” Kennedy told a small gathering of reporters shortly after being driven home in an SUV from Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was discharged yesterday morning. He had been helicoptered to Mass. General last Saturday after suffering a brain seizure at the house on Cape Cod. Subsequent days of testing unearthed the grim news that a usually fatal form of brain cancer had triggered the seizure.

The news — first conveyed in a telephone call from the senator’s son, U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — brought shock and gloom, and not a few tears, to Capitol Hill. One colleague after another offered prayers and praise — some of which veered close to eulogy — for a man who appeared to be facing this latest run of adversity with a grin.

Yesterday’s White House gathering was typical of the sort of ideological cross section that Kennedy — very liberal but very practical-minded — has long specialized in lashing together to pass laws. The bill in question, which would prevent insurers and other such organizations from using genetic data to penalize patients, was a long time traveling through the Congress, including a stop in one of Kennedy’s prime legislative arenas, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Those on hand included some of chairman Kennedy’s Republican colleagues on the “HELP” panel. They ranged from conservative — the panel’s ranking Republican, Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming and former chairman Judd Gregg of New Hampshire — to the moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. House members on hand ranged from the liberal Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., to the conservative Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif.

Mr. Bush’s description of the bill was likewise a good fit for the type of compromise between public welfare and business needs that is Kennedy’s stock in trade. The bill “protects our citizens from having their genetic information misused,” Mr. Bush explained, “without undermining the basic tenets of the insurance industry.”

Even as Mr. Bush signed this bill into law, congressional leaders took note of the practically instant chill that Kennedy’s absence had on a range of initiatives with which he is involved. Those include a major retooling of the federal programs that aid higher education, a bill to let public-safety workers enjoy collective bargaining rights and the mental-health insurance parity bill that he is negotiating with, among others, his son Patrick.

The White House ceremony came hours after Kennedy, the longest-surviving brother in the nation’s most celebrated political family, was discharged from the hospital.

Kennedy, who traveled home with his wife, was to remain there as he and his doctors chart a course of treatment over the coming days.

“Sen. Kennedy has recovered remarkably quickly from his Monday procedure and therefore will be released from the hospital today ahead of schedule,” said a statement yesterday from his doctors.

Congressman Kennedy planned, meanwhile, to spend as much time as possible at his father’s side. He returned to his home in Portsmouth after seeing the senator off at Mass. General. Family members have spent much of the time at the senator’s bedside since last weekend. Patrick Kennedy planned to spend last night at home and then join his father on the Cape.

As he emerged from the hospital in Boston yesterday, the senator embraced his son and other family members, flashed a thumbs-up to well-wishers and greeted his Portuguese water dogs, Sunny and Splash.

TV news helicopters tracked his progress to the Cape and Kennedy-watchers speculated about the weekend’s sailing possibilities.

The 37th annual Figawi race starts Saturday, and Kennedy’s 50-foot sailboat is among the 205 sailboats registered to race between Hyannis and Nantucket.

Kennedy regularly takes part in the race, which starts a short sail from the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport. Patrick Kennedy has also taken part with his father. Last year, the Concordia yawl won its division on the return leg.

Victoria Kennedy has suggested to friends that her husband wants to race this weekend.

“Teddy is leading us all, as usual, with his calm approach to getting the best information possible,” she wrote in an e-mail Tuesday to friends.

“He’s also making me crazy (and making me laugh) by pushing to race in the Figawi this weekend,” she wrote.

The Figawi “is recognized as a top sailing event not only on the East Coast but is known nationally as well as internationally,” according to the race’s Web site.

The early-season race across Nantucket Sound is often marked by foggy conditions — contributing to its name — and has a reputation for a party atmosphere. After racing to Nantucket, the sailors spend Sunday on Nantucket before racing back to the Cape on Monday.

The senator’s desire for a quick return to the water seemed to be a sign, at least, of high spirits for his long-odds fight against cancer.

Material from Projo.com writer Jack Perry, the Associated Press and The New York Times was used in this report.

jmulligan@belo-dc.com