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BY DAN DICKISONSPARS AND RIGGINGBy Sparman USAWe offer you 25 years mast and rigging experienceand use only the highest quality products• Re-rigging any sailboat, anywhere• Supplying the best spar and rigging products at the best price• On-site mast & rigging installation, tuning and problem solvingWorking with you one on one to Solve your mast and riggingproblems whatever they are wherever YOU are.Contact us today at:352-222-4019 Info@sparmanusa.com www.sparmanusa.comMary Palazzo at the helm of Ken King’s Sabre 38 Quintette. Photo by Priscilla Parker.unique contest that goes even further inencouraging women to sail. The DivaWeekend Regatta is hosted everyAugust by the Western Carolina SailingClub in Anderson, SC. In just three shortyears, this event has nearly quadrupledin size from just four or five entries. It’sopen to all comers (including juniorsailors and boats sailing under thePortsmouth rating system), and likeCORA’s Femme Fatale, has one simplerule—a female sailor must be on thehelm from start to the finish.Joanna Curtiss is the cofounder andcochair of this event. A lifelong sailorand former sailing instructor who grewup on the Great Lakes, Curtiss haschaired the Diva Weekend Regattasince its inception. It might surprisereaders to know that she wasn’t initiallyenthusiastic about the concept of aregatta expressly for women skippers.“I’m one of the only women at ourclub who drives her own boat all thetime. So, I initially thought, ‘Oh, theywant me to be a feminist.’ But when the commodorephrased it as a challenge—and an opportunity—to bringmore women into the sport, that really resonated with me. Idon’t want to be the only woman out there all year long. Igrew up in an environment where almost half the peoplesailing were women. To me, it would be a lot more fun havingmore women out on the water at our club.”So, she jumped on board, and since then, a key factor inthe event’s success has been the fact that Curtiss isn’t accustomedto taking no for an answer. “Yes, I can be a littlepushy, but it’s because I really want to see more women sailing.So, I have to do a bit of selling. I’ll call some of thewomen in the club and say ‘You really ought to try this; youmight really like steering.’ Lots of women are intimidatedby being on the helm or they’re simply not comfortable withit because they lack the experience, so we do everything wecan to build confidence.”During the inaugural year of the event, Curtiss put on abasic steering and skippering clinic in the morning beforethe competition began. “We just wanted to make sure everyoneparticipating was comfortable on the tiller. In the end, itturned out to be pretty well attended.”This year, Curtis says she expects about 20 boats to register.And, for the first time in its brief history, the DivaWeekend Regatta will become more than a novel way toincrease women’s participation in the sport. It will also be afundraiser. All the proceeds from the event, says Curtiss,will be donated to Safe Haven, a women’s shelter that operatesin this area. “My cochair, Dacia Schrecengost, made thathappen,” she says.Though Curtiss is proud of the success that the DivaWeekend Regatta has enjoyed, she’s reluctant to take credit.Instead, she explains it as just another great move by herclub. “We have so much going on at this club, it’s amazing.It’s really a very welcoming place. And, I have to say, thisclub does one thing really well, without question, and that’shelping other people enjoy the sport of sailing.” Hear, hear!Here’s to the ladies!For additional information on the Femme Fatale, go towww.charlestonoceanracing.org. For more information onthe Diva Weekend Regatta, go to www.wcsc-sailing.org.What a concept!It is engineeredto be easily serviced.• Beta Marine supurb propulsionengines using Kubota diesels• From 13.5 to 105 HP including ourfamous Atomic 4 replacements• 150 HP using Iveco diesel• Also available: marine generators up to 30KwBeta Marine US, Ltd.PO Box 5, Arapahoe, NC 28510877-227-2473 • 252-249-2473 • fax 252-249-0049info@betamarinenc.com • www.betamarinenc.comNews & Views for Southern Sailors SOUTHWINDS September 2011 41