A windy day at the Virginia Beach turned tragic when a Chester woman was struck by a beach umbrella and died. My prayers go out to this family. Accidents like this define a freak accident. The accident, in my opinion, which everyone would say could never happen until it does. How many of us carry beach umbrellas, canopies, and tents to block a little bit of sun from hurting us while making it a bit more bearable on those hot days? My wife and I were a part of the beach crowd recently, setting up our canopy on a piece of another beach. Last week’s problem was that you needed a beach umbrella, but when that wind came around to the W and WNW, you needed an anchoring plan for your umbrella, canopy, or tent.
I watched as people’s umbrellas turned inside out. Canopies lifted off of the ground and people served as human anchors, holding on for dear life. In the end, many gave up the fight, taking their stuff down. A parking lot that had no empty parking spots rapidly became empty, and everybody who stayed on the beach braved it with nothing over their heads, except for my wife and me. Give me a chance to explain before you think that my ego just got the best of me. First of all, I love going to the beach. I could sit there for hours just watching the ocean. Part of going to the beach is realizing that you have to account for the sun and the wind. The sun was pretty easy; the wind was another story. I needed an anchoring system that could be used in the sand and would not pull out. What I came up with was four steel screw anchors the kind that are normally used for anchoring mobile homes. I used a small pipe to screw them into the sand and then I tied tent ropes of bungee straps from the canopy to the anchor. Another day I only used three anchors, because I was missing a strap, but it held up just fine. While others had to take their stuff down and go home, we took ours down when we were done. It took me years to find this anchoring system, but it works for me at home and at the beach.
You may say, how do I anchor something when I have to set it up on concrete or asphalt? You will then have to use weights that will hold the device in place. Concrete blocks are one thing that may work.
You should anchor everything that you put up. A point that I must make is that in some wind states, you should not put up anything, or take down what you have put up. We have gotten so accustomed to getting our way that we force the issue, until something tragic occurs. Last week’s incident involved a beach umbrella. Personally, I have never had much success with anchoring umbrellas, so I moved to the 10-by-10 canopy. They make screw-anchoring systems for umbrellas, but like I said, I watched an anchored umbrella turn inside out in a big wind gust. The point here is that the things that can take flight in high winds must be anchored well and constantly inspected. Certain things, like a bouncy house, should not be put up in high winds.
I hope that officials look at this rare and tragic accident, trying to figure out how to make the product safer, and offer anchoring options for umbrellas, canopies, and tents. Some would say no more umbrellas, tents, or canopies on beaches. How feasible is that? My borrowed statement is “never say never.” I saw freak things in the U.S. Coast Guard and while working with Chesterfield Fire & EMS. Just because it has never happened does not mean that it cannot or never will. My anchoring system worked well yesterday and all the other days that I have used it. Though I watched what happened to others, I cannot say that I expected someone else’s stuff to become a lethal weapon. I will never think that way again.
