Using 1.3.2 w/ UI 1.7.2

I have two forms that are each loaded as AJAX Tabs using JQUI. Each Form has a unique name/ID. I also have an SELECT element ID #islnd on both of them. In FF, this works fine, and I can use the statement below to access it.

var theIsland = $("div.ui-tabs-panel:not(.ui-tabs-hide) #islnd");

In IE8, however, I can access the first one using the statement above, but not the second, it returns something weird. (No parents, children, etc, length=0). If I use a selector that get's it's children, then ask for the parent, I get the right thing. (Below)

var theIsland = $("div.ui-tabs-panel:not(.ui-tabs-hide) #islnd > option").parent(); // Work around a bug in IE.

I'm doing all this during a JQUI show event of the tab.