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Ran Tan II took line honours on the final leg from Napier to Auckland to make it a clean sweep of the 40th edition of the Round North Island two-handed race.
But Ran Tan II, who took 1 day 18 hours and 49 minutes to navigate 383 nautical miles from Napier and who finished less than an hour ahead of Miss Scarlett, won't claim overall line honours because they changed crew for the final leg. Miss Scarlett are also ineligible due to a crew change, meaning Blink take overall line honours for this year's race.
Sun Fast 3600 Racing, who were fourth on the final leg, won overall on PHRF.
Many of the 23-strong fleet still left in the race were hit by some nasty weather on the journey north from Napier and three boats either took refuge or needed repairs in Gisborne to wait out the storm battering the North Island. All three rejoined the race this morning.
The heavy weather was in contrast to conditions when the fleet left Napier on Thursday, with the start delayed by an hour until there was enough breeze. The benign conditions didn't last long and crews soon endured more than 25 knots on the nose and confused seas.
The frontrunners escaped the worst of the conditions all the way to Auckland.
"The rich got richer," race director Jon Henry said. "The boats that pushed hard coming across the gulf had a really good run.
"The guys further back took a bit of a hammering. The further down the fleet you were, the worst of the conditions you tackled."
It was like that throughout most of the race as the fleet, who numbered 26 when they set off from Auckland on February 25, endured a range of conditions but the race still finished on target.
"It has been a full mixture of conditions from very light winds to quite strong," Henry said. "It has been testing and some boats also got a bit of hiding coming into Wellington.
"It's a windy part of the world and you can't sail around the North Island without hitting some weather somewhere."
Prizegiving will be held at the Devonport Yacht Club on March 26.
For full results and to follow the last boats as they finish, see here
See a video of Ran Tan II crossing the finishing line in Auckland on Saturday here
