The Coastal Classic yacht race from Auckland to Russell has been won despite weather conditions forcing 137 boats to retire.
Dave Andrews won the race for the second consecutive time in his 44 foot trimaran, Taeping, finishing at just before 12.30am today.
Simon Hull's Transpac 52, V5, wasthe second in at 1.09am.
Race organisers reported 130 of the original 229 entrants retired due to strong headwinds and choppy seas.
Big seas were expected to continue for the duration of the 119 nautical mile race while the winds were predicted to top 40 knots.
The crew of Space Station were rescued after running aground at Mangawhai.
Coastguard shift officer Mark Fletcher said the boat withdrew from the race and advised that they were heading to Whangarei Harbour, but "became disorientated and ran aground".
The boat itself was recovered intact several hours later.
High profile withdrawals included early leader Sundreamer, Dan Slater's Line 7 Marine, Living Doll and the canting keelers Ran Tan II and Wired.
The remainder of the fleet are expected to finish overnight and through Saturday, a long way off the race record set in 1996 by Split Enz of 7 hours 20 minutes.
