Barnes, Kiwis Sail to First-Day Series Lead : Yachting: They make the right moves on San Diego Bay but still lead Isler and U.S. by just a point.

Considering he was a novice in a 68-foot maxi-sled and had never raced in the shifting winds of San Diego Harbor, New Zealand skipper David Barnes made a fair showing Friday in the first day of an eight-race series between the Kiwis and the United States.

Barnes took two of three match races from Peter Isler, winning navigator in the last two America’s Cups, and suffered his only loss by just six seconds.

“We came in here with everything to gain and nothing to lose,” Barnes said. “This is Peter’s home turf, and these boats are foreign to us. We don’t have any boats this size in our country.”

Barnes and his 10-member crew did get an opportunity to practice with the maxi-sleds for four days.

“I guess it shows that we’re fast learners and quick to adapt to different conditions,” Barnes said. “Rod Davis and Murray Jones work together all the time. They communicated well with me all day.”

Barnes and Davis, an 1984 Olympic gold medalist in soling, are ranked second on the World Match Racing Circuit.

Racing continues today and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Friday’s races were worth one point each. Saturday’s three races count two points apiece and Sunday’s two races are worth three points.

So although Barnes and his crew made all the right moves Friday, he still only leads the series by one point.

Isler, ranked as the No. 1 skipper in the United States and fifth in the world, said he wasn’t surprised by the Kiwis’ quick start.

“You have many Olympic class people on that crew,” Isler said. “It’s always been tough to race against them.”

After Isler’s boat took a quick lead in the opening race, Barnes and navigators Davis and Jones made several key decisions in the second leg that gave the New Zealand boat favorable wind. The Kiwis wound up winning by 48 seconds.

“The wind shifts were critical,” Isler said. “They played them beautifully, and we were a little out of phase. They had the advantage of being ahead. The lead boat gets to choose, and they made the right decisions.”

The second race took on many of the same characteristics as the first--Isler’s boat led early with the Kiwis’ boat taking the lead after the first leg. But with the race a third over, the Kiwis were penalized for altering their course while on a starboard tack. They were immediately ordered by the three judges to make a circle.

Barnes said the penalty, which he said cost him six or seven boat lengths, was unjust.

“It cost us the race,” he said. “I know you’re not supposed to alter your course, but we didn’t have a chance to because of the big wind shift. We were nowhere near to coming close to them.”

Still, the Kiwis made up the time they lost and had an opportunity to win, but a late charge by Isler gave the United States the six-second victory.

“(Isler) came with more pressure behind us,” Barnes said. “We couldn’t quite get an advantage before the last mark.”

The third race was the most lopsided. Barnes got off to an early lead and was never threatened. He led by more than a minute throughout and won by 51 seconds.

“We picked the shifts quite well,” said Barnes, a three-time world champion in Olympic class 470s. “We got the first shift right and basically ignored them from there.”

The crews switched boats after the second race Friday and will continue to switch throughout the series until each has sailed each boat four times.