Tiger Trophy

My 15 year old has never sailed in a proper cold winter and if the forecast is to be believed we will have a couple of rather cold weeks before the Tiger trophy which should ensure everything has cooled down nicely for a bracing blast -  or maybe the weather will be kind and it will look like a summer's day, just a tad colder. 

If it were me, I would weigh up the crew's opinion(s) (or in my case our repsective state of minds), the clothing available, the forecast for temperature, wind speed and wind chill and take some nice on-the-water snacks to keep me going (this last bit applies to proper boats only). All of these things can be discussed with one's sailing partner? Some of these things might become a bit clearer nearer the time.

 Roll on summer ... Tessa

Still making my mind up ... Tessa

You could both go just for the experience?

Deliberatley start a few ranks back ... Even if you get bad air it will give her a taste of what bigger races and starts are like, and it may even boost her confidence at smaller races - Intimidation is a powerful weapon

Alternativley, Go down, if its really windy, just go for a sail. I have heard it is a long sail just to get to the start line, so you can use that as a testing ground ... See how she likes it. If its then a no-go, sail back in and hog all the hot water  

Looks like there could be 8 or 9 Asymmetric Vortex there (please no debate about whether a Vortex is a 'centreboard dinghy' - that's been done to death already)!

I may be able to borrow an RS500 but my crew (my 14 year old daughter) hasn't done any big events, isn't used to the 500 and isn't too keen on cold and windy weather! Plenty of you on here are quite young so advice please - should I push her to sail or not?