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Topic: First time camper - high wind

Skettical

15/7/2016 at 10:07pm
Location: None Entered
Outfit: North Gear Mars 4 man tent

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Hullo,

I'm currently camping in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands. I have a North Gear Mars tent. There are some wind gusts in the area of 35mph/44 mph. My tent was bending and buckling a lot and I got a bit nervous so I'm I the lounge. When I checked on my tent, two pegs had come loose but it was still standing.

The weather forecast predicts the same max wind speeds all night. While I could just stay in the lounge, I would rather not.

I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for me? I have extra pegs and guys but the number of line anchor points is limited to six. Would two lines per anchor help at all? Double pegging? I'm also worried about the poles maybe snapping?

I have no idea what I'm doing here. I know it's a cheaper tent. Several tent reviews said that it's survived strong winds that's why I went with it but at the end of the day, I was in a difficult situation financially and accommodation-wise and had to make a quick decision...

Any suggestions from experienced campers would be welcome.

Mucker1884

15/7/2016 at 10:24pm
Location: Derby.
Outfit: Karsten 350+Awnings

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From the little info you have given us, my guess is you already know the answers.
Yes, if you have spare guy line, put an extra guy on each attachment point. Spread them out, so they are all working from different angles/directions. Might even be worth tripling them up... have two going long, for sideward protection, and one going short, and therefore more acute, to help keep the tent down? Pure amateur advise on my part, but it sounds good!

...And yes, double peg all lines... pegs crossed (go in from opposite directions, parallel to the tent (so perpendicular to the line) and knock them all the way in... nothing sticking up above ground. Oh, and around 45 to 60deg into the ground... don't put them in vertically.

When you get home, google "Delta Ground Anchors", but in the meantime, good luck... and please come back and let us know how you got on!

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Skettical

16/7/2016 at 9:08am
Location: None Entered
Outfit: North Gear Mars 4 man tent

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A fellow camper helped me secure my tent better and it survived the night. I slept a couple of hours in it but now the wind got very strong again so I'm back in the campsite lounge. According to the Internet, it's going to get worse before it gets better :-/

If it survives another day and night, the Internet says the wind will go down again.

I think I need more pegs so I can add two more lines. I used up all the new, sturdier pegs last night and I'm still two shorter than I would like to be. Only way to get them up here is from Amazon though. Sigh.

I'm just going to have to keep my fingers crossed, aren't I?

Hacksaw Bob

16/7/2016 at 10:36am
Location: West Midlands
Outfit: Various tents

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Quote: Originally posted by Skettical on 16/7/2016

I think I need more pegs so I can add two more lines. I used up all the new, sturdier pegs last night and I'm still two shorter than I would like to be. Only way to get them up here is from Amazon though. Sigh.

I'm just going to have to keep my fingers crossed, aren't I?

Have you tried local shops? Even if they don't stock proper tent pegs they'd probably have something you could improvise with; "bags for life" for example could be filled with sand, rocks, boulders, or whatever is available and spare guys (washing line, possibly?) tied round them.

Bernie47

16/7/2016 at 4:57pm
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Have you tried the Rope Centre in Stromness?
I cannot remember anywhere in Kirkwall that sells camping equipment but Stromness is not far away.

I love Orkney but the absence of trees means that there is very little shelter.

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Bernie

sam7hh

18/7/2016 at 7:29am
Location: North Kent
Outfit: Vango Da Vinci 500

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Speak to your fellow camper, many carry extras and may spare a couple for you. Hope you are ok

Old Smokey

18/7/2016 at 10:18pm
Location: Manchester
Outfit: SunnCamp Vermont XL Hawaii Reef

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Fair play for pitching up in the Orkneys on your first trip 👍

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duffs54

19/7/2016 at 11:24am
Location: Cambs
Outfit: Ford Duetto Autosleeper

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We camped in last years sept storms, 45rmph winds in our inflatable. got lots of tips from a page on here somewhere which we used.

might have been here:
linky

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Duffs54

Sceptical Camper

21/7/2016 at 8:16am
Location: Beautiful Warwickshire
Outfit: Various tents

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You are right - there is a very detailed UKCS thread about coping with the wind.

Coping with the wind

duffs54

24/7/2016 at 5:21pm
Location: Cambs
Outfit: Ford Duetto Autosleeper

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Quote: Originally posted by Sceptical Camper on 21/7/2016
You are right - there is a very detailed UKCS thread about coping with the wind.

Coping with the wind

Ah yes well worth a read, thank you Sceptie x

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Duffs54

sam7hh

23/8/2016 at 9:47pm
Location: North Kent
Outfit: Vango Da Vinci 500

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Ask the site owner, they often have a supply of tent pegs, or fellow campers nearlknearlky always carry spares. Make sure you are pitched bum to the wind. Good luck and stay safe.

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