A boat finishes when, after her starting signal, any part of her hull crosses the finishing line from the course side. However, she has not finished if after crossing the finishing line she

• (a) takes a penalty under rule 44.2,
• (b) corrects an error in sailing the course made at the line, or
• (c) continues to sail the course.

After finishing she need not cross the finishing line completely. The sailing instructions may change the direction in which boats are required to cross the finishing line to finish.