Found out how windy is too windy!!

[Double]

Last night I sat up at a local county lake for a quick over night hang. About 10:30 last night a storm rolled in that I thought would miss me too the south. Well I was wrong! I’m not entirely sure what happened to cause the catastrophic failure, but I was asleep peacefully in my hammock with my tarp over me staked out low to the ground. Than I was rocked by a gust of wind smashing the tarp into me. I quickly grabbed the bottom edge of the tarp to give it support before I was hit again. Bam second gust hits me and a split second later my tarp was split down the ridgeline in half. Stakes keeping one side from flapping away and the other being held by the ridge line. Seeing my 950 down under quilt take on wind like a sail had me jumping out of the hammock faster than I have ever done before. Emergency bailing to the car grabbing everything up as fast as I possibly could. (Pics to follow once daylight comes out) The National Weather Service said that the “gusts” were 45 mph with sustained wind of 25. Lesson learned about setting up in the open when a storm rolling in. The positive is I know what my gears limits are now.

[FLTurtle]

Man that sucks. What kinda tarp was it? When you say "split down the ridgeline in half"...you mean lengthwise along the ridgeline?

[sideshowraheem]

Oooof.

Yeah I am becoming more and more convinced that beyond luck, and site selection, there isnt much you can do if you get a 40+ mph gust that hits your tarp broadside.

Sorry to hear about your tarp, thats a bummer. One thing I have been wondering, were you using a ridgeline for your tarp, or just tied off the ends?

[Double]

IMG_3058.jpg It was a DIY half winter tarp made out of pu4000 material. It failed due to my craftsmanship. I used grosgrain in the seem to bypass the need for reinforcements along ridge line, or so I thought so. Had issues with past tarps ripping at the reinforcement. It started from a needle hole in the corner along the hem and ran straight across the ridge line and down the side seem. It’s repairable at least. I’ll make sure to bond reinforcement material to it this time. This tarp was made before bonding material together was common practice. You can see the side pullouts are sewn on as well, I’ll make sure to bond some on the inside as well so that they don’t become an issue later on down the line.

Edit to add this pic from NWS
IMG_3057.jpeg

[LowTech]

From the description I'd say it was along the ridgeline. That makes me wonder if it was a CRL or a Split?

Well that info came out before I could finish typing.

"Sent w/o me knowing"

[Double]

It was split, but it had 3/8 grosgrain inside of it. So semi CLR? Haha

[FLTurtle]

Well, it was a clean-ish tear...that's cool that you can repair it! At least you know the material held up...just needs a stronger reinforcement where you joined the two halves.

[LowTech]

The tarp that I had damaged was where the ridgeline time-outs are added. The reinforcement was sewn onto the body of the tarp but the folded hemline wasn't included in the stitching. Something that I would call a structural mistake.
I also tend to run my ridgeline under the tarp on our "very windy" nights, not that it would have helped in this situation.

"Sent w/o me knowing"

[gargoyle]

Trees sway in the gusts. Anything is possible in the physical forces applied when they randomly move apart.

Meh, stitch it back together. Practice makes perfect… Great future fireside tale.

[cougarmeat]

Not to beat a drum at your tarp's funeral (and it sounds like you can resurrect it), but ...
That's why I don't use a split tarp ridgeline - it makes the tarp part of the suspension. With a continuous ridgeline, the line takes the stress with the tarp hanging under it (like a hammock with a structural ridgeline). And that's why, when possible, I set up parallel to the wind - less surface area for the wind to beat against, and the tarp is partially protected by the support trees.

But of course that supposes you'll know from which direction the wind will come.
You probably know all the above already; I'm just putting it out as a personal PSA. YMMV.

I'm sorry for your loss.