The finish line was so in line with the last leg I couldn't tell which way to cross — and my first crossing wasn't scored. Now what?
When the finishing marks are laid so nearly in line with the last leg that you genuinely can't tell which way to cross, that's an improper race-committee action. Under Rule 61.4(b)(1) you may finish in either direction, and your finishing time is the one you recorded at your first crossing — not the later one after you looped back. You get redress; the committee's mistake doesn't cost you the places. (World Sailing Case 82.)
📖 Want more situations like this one? Bryan Willis's The Rules in Practice 2025-2028 works through the rules as they happen round the racecourse. (affiliate link)
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<p><a href="https://sailing.kiwi.nz/v/kbyBL5Yc4Tw/">Source: Sailing Kiwi</a></p>Go deeper: books and gear
- The Rules in Practice 2025-2028 by Bryan Willis — Situations round the racecourse, worked through for the current rules.
- 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes by Dave Perry — Rules scenarios to test yourself on, with the answers.
- Sailing sunglasses — Cut the glare off the water.
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