My kite blew out ahead of the bow and across the line first — doesn't that mean I finished first?
No. Under the definition of Finish, a boat finishes when, after starting, any part of her hull crosses the finishing line from the course side. The spinnaker is not the hull — nor is the pole, the bowsprit or a crew member's arm. The boat whose bow reaches the line first finishes first. Before 2021 the definition read “hull, crew or equipment in normal position”; the 2021 rulebook cut it to hull only, at the start and the finish.
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<p><a href="https://sailing.kiwi.nz/v/PlF0lGgNp3g/">Source: Sailing Kiwi</a></p>