Alison extends

Light airs prevail at Rolex International Womens Keelboat Championship

After six races in the Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship, Betsy Alison still leads with Sally Barkow in second. The two now have a five-point spread between their overall standings whereas yesterday they were tied in scoring with Alison taking the lead due to tie-breaker rules. Annapolis skipper Lorie Stout won today's single light-air race -- her second victory in six races so far -- to move her team up to fifth place. Alison and Barkow finished 4-9, respectively. Mary Brigden finished today's race in second and improved her overall position from sixth to third.

Stout did not believe local knowledge helped her, since she regularly sails in the Severn River just off Annapolis and the fleet sailed in the middle of Chesapeake Bay five miles south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

"Sailing out there is a lot different than sailing next to the Severn Sailing Association," said Stout, who nailed the start but fouled someone shortly afterward. "It was a little tap, and we did our circles and got started again. We got rocking then."

Fighting an ebb tide and lightening breeze, Stout managed to round the top mark in eighth position. "We went up the middle when the rest of the fleet was split to either side, and the middle worked for us. There was a lot of shifting of weight and shifting gears. We did a great job of that."

By the second windward mark on the twice-around windward-leeward course, Stout was leading the fleet, with Brigden and Alison following.

"Downwind we only had to jibe and led the whole way to the finish. There was excellent pressure for us. There was a lot of easing and trimming the whole time to the finish." Trimming for Stout is Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Susan Taylor of Annapolis.

Another local team skippered by Nancy Haberland nipped at Alison's heels and caught her on the final downwind run to the finish. Haberland's third place would have served her well except that she had started prematurely and incurred a 20% penalty after restarting. The mathematics of it all added 16 points to her score instead of three, and she sits in seventh overall, losing two positions on the scoreboard since yesterday. Haberland, a sailing coach for the U.S. Naval Academy and a 2004 Olympic hopeful in the Yngling class, is sailing against other Olympic hopefuls, including both Alison and Barkow, this week out on Chesapeake Bay.

A total of 17 Maryland teams, comprised of four women each, are competing among the 66 international teams in town. The regatta, the world's largest of its kind for women, has been held every other year since 1985, and this is the second time it has been held in Annapolis, after having been moved here from Newport, R.I.

A second race was started but abandoned when it was clear that the fleet would not finish the race within the two-hour time limit. The Race Committee will attempt to re-sail the race tomorrow along with two other scheduled races.

"It was definitely the hardest day we have sailed out there," said Kylie Jameson, skipper aboard one of three New Zealand entries. "This morning's race had the first few boats crossing the finish line whilst most of the fleet were still more than a leg behind. The second race saw the first boats go around the first leeward mark in reasonable wind and then the breeze just turned off. The Race Committee did the right thing by not keeping us out there."

The five-day, 10-race series will conclude on Friday and be followed by a gala Rolex Awards Ceremony at Annapolis Yacht Club, host to the regatta,where the winning team will receive a Rolex timepiece.

	Skipper	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Total
1	Betsy Alison	1	1	[67/BFD]	12	9	4	27.00
2	Sally Barkow	8	10	[28/ZFP]	1	4	9	32.00
3	Mary Brigden	15	4	3	14	[26]	2	38.00
4	Karleen Dixon	2	6	4	[32]	18	13	43.00
5	Lorie Stout	18	[26]	1	17	12	1	49.00
6	Paula Lewin	4	[22]	15/ZFP	13	6	11	49.00
7	Nancy Haberland	10	19	[67/BFD]	5	1	16/ZFP	51.00
8	Carol Cronin	5	3	[67/BFD]	23	8	14	53.00
9	Donna Womble	20	[23]	10	9	10	15	64.00
10	Phebe King	25	16	6	2	20	[54]	69.00
11	Dominique Provoyeur	13	9	7	[27]	14	26	69.00
12	Melinda Berge	9	21	28	8	[30]	5	71.00
13	Kylie Jameson	17	7	8	[38]	11	28	71.00
14	Susan F. Meredith	11	8	23	28	2	[39]	72.00
15	Claudia Wainer	12	20	[35/ZFP]	7	19	16	74.00
16	Kirsten Zillmann	27	5	13	26	[36]	6	77.00
17	Derby Anderson	19	12	[25/ZFP]	16	23	7	77.00
18	Margaret Podlich	22	14	11	[36]	28	8	83.00
19	Sarah Shannon	14	33	9	18	[45]	10	84.00
20	Molly O'Bryan	7	2	[67/BFD]	4	15	57	85.00
21	Terry Schertz	28	15	5	11	[41]	38	97.00
22	Amber West	21	[35]	22/AVG	21	16	17	97.00
23	Kathy Parks	23	37	32/ZFP	3	3	[42]	98.00
24	Corrie Clement	3	[45/ZFP]	21	15	22	41	102.00
25	Lisa Ross	26	[67/OCS]	17	10	5	55	113.00
26	Betsy Yingling	39	11	31	6	31	[64]	118.00
27	Sue Mikulski	24	27	29	[67/DSQ]	27	12	119.00
28	Melissa Ferdinandi	30	18	[51/ZFP]	31	34	19	132.00
29	Sandy Grosvenor	6	13	[67/BFD]	49	35	35/ZFP	138.00
30	Joni Palmer	33	[67/DSQ]	55/ZFP	22	7	23	140.00
31	Kathy Lundeen	[45]	34	30	35	17	24	140.00
32	Keven Eiber	[67/RAF]	44	20	39	13	32	148.00
33	Marie Klok Crump	16	24	37/ZFP	40	33	[43]	150.00
34	Sarah Buckley	[34]	17	67/DNE	19	24	25	152.00
35	Mary Grealy	29	[45]	16	41	38	34	158.00
36	Kathy Irwin	32	41	33	[42]	37	18	161.00
37	Jamie Haines	31	38	25	34	39	[63]	167.00
38	Lynette Edenfield	43	39	26	[45]	44	20	172.00
39	Jennifer Child	46	29	18	29	[64]	53	175.00
40	Trudie Ficks	[50]	25	39	50	29	37	180.00
41	Susan Mattis Turnham	36	28	[67/DNF]	24	52	48	188.00
42	Sue Vangrevenhof	40	[54]	37	48	40	27	192.00
43	Teresa L. Decker	59	[67/RAF]	14	46	46	30	195.00
44	Bridget Creney	48	51	[67/BFD]	44	32	21	196.00
45	Danielle Gallo	41	40	34	37	[49]	45	197.00
46	Janene Marasciullo	51	[52]	43	33	25	49	201.00
47	Betsy Lefler	47	50	49	25	[62]	31	202.00
48	Jamie Matuszak	53	31	35	30	[61]	56	205.00
49	Sue McDowell	37	43	41	[61]	57	29	207.00
50	Mimi Shea	49	47	36	58	21	[59]	211.00
51	Mia Anderson	35	42	47	52	[65]	36	212.00
52	Lynn Pinegar	38	36	40	[53]	47	51	212.00
53	Linda McKee	57	61	32	20	56	[62]	226.00
54	Cheryl Jersey	42	55	53	[63]	55	35	240.00
55	Judy Stoer	56	57	45	54	[63]	33	245.00
56	Jane Moon	52	[67/OCS]	40/ZFP	47	48	60	247.00
57	Karen Mitchell	[67/DNF]	67/DNC	44	43	60	40	254.00
58	Betsy Schreitmueller	54	46	50	[59]	58	50	258.00
59	Emma Jones	55	56	46	[62]	59	44	260.00
60	Jane Lumbers	[67/DNF]	30	67/BFD	55	43	66	261.00
61	Kate Schellie	63	[67/ZFP]	52	51	51	46	263.00
62	Kellie Hawkins Schaffner	58	58	[67/BFD]	57	42	52	267.00
63	Anne Marie Shewfelt	[60]	48	67/DNE	56	54	47	272.00
64	Elaine Haher	62	53	51	[64]	50	61	277.00
65	Carol Pine	[61]	59	48	60	53	58	278.00
66	Letty Eby	44	49	[67/BFD]	65	66	65	289.00