Key West Race Week 2001 - Day 3

JJ ISLER THE 'SILVER' FOX OF KEY WEST

Photos ©: IMCA/Fiona Brown

Since she won a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics last September, JJ Isler of La Jolla, Calif. had been folding clothes instead of sails, but Yachting Key West Race Week 2001 was time for her to show that she was not ready to settle into motherhood.

In a Farr 40 class that features world-class sailors moonlighting as tacticians - including Star gold medalist Mark Reynolds, San Diego, and America's Cup winner Russell Coutts, New Zealand, not to mention husband Peter Isler - JJ Isler guided Tom Neill's bright red Nitemare from Chicago to its first victory in Wednesday's only race for the class. Nitemare nosed out Oscar Strugstad's Dawn Raid from the UK (Ian Walker tactician) by 11 seconds.

Isler, the mother of two young daughters, placed second in a 15 ½-foot women's 470 at Sydney with Pease Glaser as crew, but she is enjoying the 40 feet of space. "Dinghy sailing is fun, but you have to do so many jobs," she said. "It's great just to be able to look around, and you stay dry all day."

The weather was relatively tranquil Wednesday following Tuesday's kaleidoscope of conditions. Winds were 6-10 knots, the emerald seas sailboat-friendly and shifts subtle, although occasionally significant. All classes did only one race each. Three remain to be sailed through Friday.

The Farr 40s have had a different leader each of the first three days. Now it's Steve Kaminer's Predator from Annapolis, Md. (Gavin Brady), which moved up from third as Jim Richardson's first-place Barking Mad, Newport, R.I. (Terry Hutchinson) swallowed a 20th place in the eight-race, no-throwout series, and Alexandra Geremia's second-place Crocodile Rock, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Vince Brun) was 25th.

Peter Isler is aboard Brack Duker's Revolution, Marina del Rey, Calif., which shares second place with George Andreadis' defending Grecian champion, Atalanti XII (Robbie Haines), four points behind Predator.

Philippe Kahn's Pegasus, Santa Cruz, Calif. (Reynolds) is fourth overall and stalking Barking Mad for the U.S. Farr 40 berth in this summer's Admiral's Cup in England. With three YKWRW races and Saturday's distance race to Ft. Lauderdale remaining. Barking Mad leads that contest within the regatta, 3.5 points to 5. Each buoy race is weighted at 0.5, the distance race at 2.5. Two other candidates seem out of contention.

In other contests Wednesday, B&N von der Wense's Turbo Duck, Annapolis, continued to command the Mumm 30 class with a fourth-place finish. Two-time defending champion Harry Melges, Zenda, Wis., regained command of the Melges 24s with a third place as Neil Sullivan's Melges 24 M-Fatic, Annapolis, with former Olympian Morgan Reeser driving, finished fifth but sucked up a 58th place on a review in that 59-boat fleet. Most of the PHRF classes were too close to call, although Warren Hudson's Frers 33 Eclipse, Chicago, has four consecutive firsts in PHRF 9.

Among the J/Boats, Kerry Klingler's J/80 352, Larchmont, N.Y., opened the door with a 12th after four wins, but runnerup David Balfour's Kicks, Austin, Tex., could manage only a 17th.

Nitemare stands ninth overall, but there was a popular reaction when word of JJ Isler's success spread through the fleet. "Good for her!" Haines exclaimed.

Peter and JJ's boats have won the last two races. "There's a little competition in their bedroom," said Neill, who is hosting the couple at his Key West condo.

Neill, a longtime friend who helped to fund Isler's Olympic campaign, said Nitemare's start was "pretty poor" as most boats ganged up at the heavily favored pin end of the starting line. But Nitemare managed to tack right into clear air, found a shift and rounded the first mark fifth. Then Isler called for the left side on the second and third upwind legs, and "that paid off big," Neill said.

Nitemare finally overtook the pacesetting Pegasus after they split tacks going home, then held off Dawn Raid at the wire.

NOTES: Tuesday's Boat of the Day was Brian Porter's Melges 24 Full Throttle from Lake Geneva, Wis., with a 2-1 in the 59-boat fleet. . . . Robert Hughes of Holland, Mich., whose 1D35 Heartbreaker was Boat of the Year last year, was the first male skipper to finish Tuesday's Saucony 5K Fun Run. Overall, Hughes was 20th out of 159 male and female competitors, whose times ranged from 17 minutes 2 seconds to 62:20. Hughes' time was 21:18 ... The only college team at Key West is the New York Maritime College from Ft. Schuyler, N.Y. The coach is Kris Werner. They're sailing the 1D35 Southern Spirit, currently in the middle of the pack.

Sponsors and Suppliers of Yachting Key West Race Week 2001 include Mount Gay Rum, Lewmar Marine, SailNet.com, B&G Electronics, Grand Banks Yachts, the Kenwood Cup, Sam Adams, Saucony and Vascodagama.

Since 1998 the Florida Keys & Key West, their Tourist Development Council, local businesses and the community have been major supporters of Race Week, embracing this early winter regatta which attracts sailors from around the world.

Leaders (after 4 of 8 races):

DIVISION I

CLASS 1A-IMS (9 boats)
Esmeralda (Farr 50), Makoto Uematsu, Newport, R.I.,1-1-2-1-5,10

CLASS 1B-PHRF 1 (9 boats)
Chessie Racing (Farr 52), George Collins, Gibson Island, Md.,1-2-2-1-2,8

CLASS 1C-PHRF 2 (11 boats)
PAX NZL (Farr 43), Robert Siegel, Stamford, Conn.,1-3-7-1-1,13

CLASS 1D-ID35 (20 boats)
Avalanche, W.S. Shellhorse, Lake Wesley, Va.,5-1-1-4-1,12

CLASS 1E-PHRF 3 (14 boats)
Tiburon (Melges 30 OB), Michael T. Gray, Metairie, La.,1-1-1-3-2,6

CLASS 1F1-PHRF 4 (10 boats)
The Wall (Mumm 36), Gordon Shiff, Tampa,Fla.,2-2-1-3-2,10

CLASS 1F2-PHRF 5 (9 boats)
Claddagh (N/M 40), L. Fallon/J. Flanagan,Marblehead, Mass.,4-1-1-1-1,8

DIVISION II

CLASS A-PHRF 6 (8 boats)
Abbey Normal (B-32), Jeffrey Gale, Hope Town,Abaco,2-1-1-5-2,11

CLASS B-PHRF 7 (9 boats)
Phaedra (Evelyn 32), Pensacola Beach, Fla.,2-6-1-1-3,13

CLASS C-PHRF 8 (8 boats)
Eclipse (Frers 33), Warren Hudson, Boston,Mass.,3-1-1-1-1,7

CLASS D-J/80 (25 boats)
352, Kerry Klingler, Larchmont, N.Y.,1-1-1-1-12,16

CLASS E-PHRF 9 (15 boats)
Dream Cookie (Tripp 26), Peter DeBeukelaer,Jackson, Miss.,1-2-1-3-1,8

CLASS 5-PHRF 10 (10 boats)
Rugger (S2 7.9), John and Jeff Sampson,Detroit, Mich.,1-2-3-4-3,13

DIVISION III

CLASS A-MELGES 24 (59 boats)
Zenda Express, Harry Melges, Zenda, Wis.,1-1-10-14-3,29

CLASS B-J/105 (25 boats)
Masquerade, Tom Coates, Newport, R.I.,5-1-1-3-6,18

CLASS C-J/29 (17 boats)
Tomahawk, Bruce Lockwood, Ludlow, Vt.,3-3-2-4-3,13

DIVISION IV

CLASS A-FARR 40 (37 boats)
Predator, Steve Kaminer, Annapolis, Md.,7-8-12-7-3,37

CLASS B-MUMM 30 (31 boats)
Turbo Duck, B&N von der Wense, Annapolis, Md.,1-3-9-4-4,21

More Information:

• www.Premiere-Racing.com