For the second year in a row, Awen led the monohull keelboat fleet across the finish line of the PIC Coastal Classic.
Evan Davies and the crew aboard the Imoca 60 were just the second team to finish the iconic coastal race at 11:16pm tonight as they overtook multihulls Kotuku and Cation on the leg between Cape Brett and the finish line.
Kotuku and Cation finished hot on their tail: just one minute and three minutes behind respectively. Team Frank Racing won the 2018 race convincingly, six hours earlier.
Race division 1a has a competitive fleet of Fast 52's- and this year Mayhem can hold their head high as the fastest of the pack, as they crossed the finish line at 11:23pm with Wired just three minutes behind. As of midnight v5 and Kia Kaha had also finished.
Friday's finishers - before 11:59pm
FRANK RACING
AWEN
KOTUKU
CATION
MAYHEM
WIRED
V5
KIA KAHA
As of midnight, 8 of the 165 entered boats had finished, and a further 15 had rounded Cape Brett on their way to the finish line. The bulk of the fleet were still between Tutukaka and Cape Brett's entrance to the Bay of Islands.
Followers can continue to watch progress through the night via the coastal classic website www.coastalclassic.co.nz and the live yacht tracker or radio skeds.
Full results, including both line and handicap information, will be published Saturday, on completion of the race.