RRS 35 states:-
35 RACE TIME LIMIT AND SCORES
If one boat sails the course within the time limit for that race, if any,
all boats that finish shall be scored according to their finishing places
unless the race is abandoned. If no boat sails the course within the
race time limit, the race committee shall abandon the race.
In the Sailing Instructions a time limit, target time and finishing window time is given. For example
"The time limits and target times in minutes are as follows:"
Event | TargetTime | Mark 1Time Limit | FinishingWindow | Time Limit
ILCA 7 | 50. | 20 | 10 | 70
The leading boat finishes in 69 mins and no other boat finished within 70 mins. How will the finish window be activated in this scenario? Does the race officer close the finish line at 70 minutes or does he start the 10 mins finish window as per the SI and keep the line open till 79 mins?
That means the time limit in the SI is only applicable to the first boat and it is not for all the boats and RRS 35 is indicating only at "If one boat sails the course within the time limit for that racet", which would mean the leading boat only.