I don’t think Rufles sailed just as fast. Hamachi made at least two large tactical errors (coming to the middle just before the north started paying and going hard south too early and thus missing out on the large shift that everyone else got,) and they reported all sorts of mechanical issues...
Hamachi had every bit of excess weight removed, had no through hulls, no head, super light charging system, super light batteries, all carbon trim, carbon hatches and hatch boards, etc. It also had the rig stiffened with high modulus pre-preg, carbon rigging installed, the quick-vang removed...
First starts are today and the race organizers choice to start different classes on different days has effectively given the overall prizes to the boats that start on Friday. Well done again.
Or some other measurement based rule, otherwise you’re creating a culture where mediocre sailors get rewarded and better sailors get punished in the long term.