Tuesday 4 September 2012

stormy weather


A chilly September morning here, and only three weeks ago I was waking to this peaceful dawn in East Prawle, Devon.  Breakfast of tea with condensed milk, and Trangia toast. Happy days. 


The weather got very wet and blowy, though, and a few people cut and run, some abandoning their tents by the rubbish bins. So they missed the fun when the sun came out and the wind freshened even more... here we are wrestling a tent to the ground to prevent it relocating to Dartmoor, all rather like those chaps you used to get up the masts on windjammers, fighting the sails as they rounded Cape Horn...


The wind didn't stop us swimming, in Bob's Creek, where the swell caused the water to rise and fall quite impressively but the worst of the waves stayed outside.


Katie engaged in some Extreme Reading, having got to an exciting bit in Clockwork Orange


Back at the field we found that our tent had blown down; the end pieces had broken off the ridge pole, and it had collaped, ripping the flysheet as it went. Fortunately, I had my Phoenix Phreak 'serious weather' tent in the car, so we were OK.

(Some more Prawle pics here )

I've now finished the tent repairs, and put it away in the attic for the next time. 25 years old and still going strong!


5 comments:

  1. My tent is of the slightly old-fashioned extreme weather variety too. Very noisy in heavy weather but I've lost count of the number of times I've emerged from it to fields of devastated tents.

    The modern dome tents are the most fun because they are a complete rigid unit. I once watched one take to the air and cartwheel away up Dyffryn Fathew towards Abergynolwyn in a stiff westerly.

    I envy you the swimming :)

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  2. it's a good swimming place; I've been down early in the morning and gone skinnydipping, as I was travelling light... the one that we're all wrestling with here is a dome tent; it was just about hanging in there until some clever person opened the windward door, while it was blowing F6-7 with gusty 8s.... you could have sold tickets, let me tell you

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  3. Dead calm and our first "summer" temperatures here in the north...

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  4. Good to read about in the safety of the warm and dry...

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