Hi,
We are off to Highlands End campsite in Eype and after reading all the reviews, the common theme seems to be the wind (as it is on a cliff top!)
We usually peg out all the guylines anyway regardless of weather, but would you recommend adding any extras, and if so, at which points?
Also, if the wind gets up, is it safe to leave the awning up or should we take it down?
Thanks for your help.
last week in very high winds in the icarus i put extra guys in at the back and front.Fastening them through the existing eyelets on the rear and front poles(the ones at eye-level) then guying them out at 45 degrees to the other guys giving 3 guys at each corner....also pegged down all the poles through the metal ring and pin rings to stop the tent 'lifting'....
it seemed to work well till my nerves gave way...lol
You're supposed to peg down the ring-and-pin system anyway during normal pitching btw. Just saying....
Yes, take the awning down if the wind picks up. Awnings are very vunerable to high winds as the wind will get under the canvas and lift it upwards. Even if you're using Deltas or double pegs it can still tear loose. It's better off in the car.
As to exactly where to put extra guylines it really depends on the combination of the the tent, the direction of the wind and any shelter the tent may have, like your car. If you stand and look at the tent and how it behaves on the day it's usually pretty obvious where it needs extra support. Remember the object of this is to reduce excessive flexing of the poles...this over-flexing is what makes the poles shatter. So place and position your guylines to give the poles as much support as you can.
I learned during last weekends high winds at Dunbar that awnings/utility tents without groundsheets are best not put up at all. I had split poles on my fishing shelter and my utility tent from all the flexing in the gale force wind.....if you do put them up use extra guy lines.
We always use the ring and pin system anyway and all the guylines. It will be a shame if we have to take down the awning as it will be it's first proper outing, but we won't take any chances.
I'm hoping that being slightly out of the peak season we will have a decent choice of pitches and apparently the lower part of the field is more sheltered. We will position the car strategically if possible and use extra guylines where needed.
We also invested in a load of rock pegs recently, so they'll probably come in handy too.
Just checked the forecast. The wind is meant to drop tomorrow anyway. Fingers crossed. Rain due on Sunday though. Lets hope it waits until we've packed up!
Well.....
Friday night was lovely, no wind to speak of and Saturday was a gloriously sunny day. We had an amazing weekend.
Until last night!
Woke up at 3am and the wind was blowing a gale. I have no idea at what point tent/awning poles snap, but I didn't want to find out.
I spoke to DH about it and he said not to worry! So, as I wasn't going to get any sleep anyway, I decided to sit in the awning in my thick coat and sleeping bag staring up at the beautifully clear night sky with my back against the awning creating a physical barrier to stop the awning from blowing in too far (ok, not one of my better ideas).
Anyway, after an hour, it was getting ridiculous, so I dragged my grumpy, half sleeping DH out of bed and talked him into taking down the awning.
At least I managed to get some sleep after that.
We packed up as planned this morning and headed to a local cafe for breakfast before heading home.
It was a great weekend though
Site review and photos to follow....
Look forward to the review & photos. I put my new "First Tent" up in the garden yesterday and having admired my handiwork for a couple of hours and practiced drinking a couple of cups of coffee in it I took a couple of pics and then took it down. Only when I looked at the photos later did I realise that the front L/H guy was caught behind one of the clips that snap onto the pole on the Icarus 300.Blush I'm still very much on a learning curve so your comments and the replies about additional guys was very interesting.
OK, I was pretty grumpy... but I still say the awning would have been OK for another 4 hours or so. My suggestion of just folding it down and parking the car on it met with swift derision... I'm having a bit of a facepalm right now because my first thought was to try and find something else to peg over it to keep it down. It's only now that I realise there were bungee ropes in the spare wheel well of the car. Exactly what I needed.
Anyway, what does "DH" stand for? I thought it was "OH" for Other Half? It can't be "Dear Husband", that wasn't what you called me when you woke me up!