Will crews go out on the water if there's lightning, fog, high wind or cold water?

USRowing's Safety Guidelines set these standards for clubs:

• Lightning or thunder: don't row in an electrical storm. If you see lightning, hear thunder or see skies darkening fast, don't launch. A crew already on the water heads for the nearest shore immediately. Nobody handles boats or riggers, or loads a trailer, until the storm has passed.
• Fog: don't launch when visibility is under 100 yards.
• High wind: don't launch. If wind comes up suddenly, return to the boathouse if that's safe, or go to the nearest shore and wait.
• Darkness: don't launch without proper lights (red on the port bow, green on the starboard bow, white on the stern).
• Cold: hypothermia is a risk when water is below 80°F and very dangerous below 50°F. When the air is below 40°F or the water is below 50°F, a launch should stay within 100 yards of every shell. Many clubs also stop rowing or use only larger boats.

At regattas, the Chief Referee must stop or suspend all racing whenever conditions are unsafe or unfair (Rules of Rowing 2-201).

Each club adapts these guidelines to its own waterway, so the exact thresholds can be stricter where your child rows.