Lots of wind and sun made the 2014 Tall Cactus regatta nearly perfect—sprinting from Pleasant Harbor Marina, around the Cole’s Bay marker, Balance Rock, and to the no-wake buoys at the North Ramp entrance. Less than two hours for winner Steve Brown and his Viper 640. Just a few minutes later Scott Battle crossed the line in 4th, putting his Catalina 22 first in the non-spin division.
It began with a staggered start, the C22s at 11 am, the Vipers and Dave Christensen’s Mini 650 some 40 minutes later and the rest arrayed in between. Spotty wind at the start spread the fleets until things began to even out later in the north leg, a downwind number.
And it all wrapped up over shishkabobs at Spinnaker Point, with living trophies presented by event organizer Ralph Vatalaro—appropriately, small cactus plants that one day may grow to mighty Tall Cactus.
