Hi,

A few days ago I went on my first solo overnighter, which I hoped would be peaceful and stress relieving. Apparently I didn't read the weather forecast thoroughly, because just a few hours after setting up the hammock, a thunderstorm surprised me.

The rain made my taut line hitches slip, which holds my tarp line. This caused the tarp to sag - then the wind caught it, the pegs came up and I became very very wet. Therefore I am looking for a new way to secure my tarp.
I currently use an amsteel line which is tied to the trees with taut line hitches. The tarp is tied onto the line with prusik knots.

Is there a better way to do this?
I've looked online and I found a few different methods, but I need a setup that I know I can trust - also in a thunderstorm. Should I use something different than amsteel? It seemed like the taut line hitches didn't "bite" the rope properly, and that made them slip. Should I use different knots? Or maybe tie the tarp directly to the trees on each ends?

What will keep me dry in a thunderstorm? What do you do?