‘Look out! There is a flying beach umbrella headed your way!’
How many times have you encountered such a scenario yourself or seen someone shouting at others, asking them to take cover?
Flying beach umbrellas often threaten to spoil beach-goers’ fun in the sun. Large outdoor umbrellas can prove to be hazardous when they come loose in gusty winds. In fact, you can often see someone running down the beach chasing an open umbrella that was unfastened by a strong breeze.
But then heavy duty outdoor umbrellas are quintessential items if you want to spend your day in the sun on Australian beaches. They work pretty much like a pool umbrella. While you can relax by lounging by the pool under a pool umbrella, you can also unwind by the beach under a beach umbrella.
The key then is to take necessary precautions while setting up a beach umbrella. However, we must warn our readers that an umbrella might still topple over or blow away irrespective of your precautionary measures if the wind is high.
Nevertheless, we have compiled a few important steps on how you can buy outdoor umbrellas in Australia and set them up at the beach:
Find the right beach umbrella
Half your job is done if you can purchase the right beach umbrella. A beach umbrella should be big enough to provide good shade and should be wind-resistant. However, unlike a pool umbrella, a beach umbrella is much heavier and significantly more hazardous. So you need to be cautious while setting up the umbrella.
Select the right frame for your umbrella
Getting the frame of your umbrella right is important if you want to set up a large outdoor umbrella on the beach. There are pros and cons to each type of material you select for the pole. but it’s generally agreed that wood tends to snap under strong winds. Umbrellas made of aluminium, steel or fiberglass are more sturdy and wind-resistant.
Base of an umbrella
Once you’ve selected the frame, the next step is to check the bottom of the pole. If the pole comes with a pointed end, it’s easier to dig the umbrella into the sand. You can also use additional weights like sandbags or water weights to secure your heavy duty outdoor umbrella.
Rocking motion
Before you get started on setting up the umbrella, you must ensure that the umbrella is closed. Nothing is harder than trying to secure an open umbrella to the ground. So it is extremely important that you follow this trick. You should then start burying your umbrella in the sand by using a rocking back and forth motion. But keep in mind that you must not stab the umbrella into the sand. It should feel like you are creating a funnel in the sand. A good rule of thumb is to bury the umbrella frame at least one-third of the way down into the sand.
Once you have accomplished this task, you must then hold the pole steady while you start filling in the hole with the sand you cleared away. Pat the sand down as much as you can, and put additional weights to secure the base.
Tilt mechanism
Once the pole is buried in the sand, open the umbrella and tilt it in the direction of the wind so that the wind pushes it into the sand, instead of lifting it up. Here, you must keep in mind that the direction of the wind will keep changing throughout the day. So you should also shift the tilt of your umbrella accordingly.
TIPS FOR UMBRELLA MAINTENANCE
You may now know how to secure your umbrella, but it’s not enough. It’s equally important to know how to keep your umbrella safely in place. Here are a few things to keep in mind after you have set up your outdoor umbrella in Australia:
Don’t fiddle with your umbrella
Now that you have secured your umbrella in the sand, try not to move it. We understand that you might need to keep adjusting it with the angle of the sun, but you should be careful while doing so. Otherwise, you will only destabilize the base of your umbrella.
Don’t play with the sand around the pole
If you have children and beach toys, you must keep them at a safe distance from the pole. This is to ensure that digging in the sand doesn’t inadvertently loosen all the hard-packed sand that’s helping to keep your umbrella secure.
Close your umbrella if you leave your encampment
It’s a good practice to close your umbrella when you leave your campsite. This way, you will prevent the wind from loosening it or sending it flying when you’re not there to keep a watch over it.
Conclusion
Now that you understand how to set up an umbrella and maintain it, we must reiterate our warning. Even the best-secured umbrellas can come loose on windy days. So we would suggest you to give the pole a shake periodically to see how tight it is. If you feel it’s loose, you’ll want to reset the pole in the sand again.
But we are certain that with the above-mentioned tips, you’ll be able to set up and maintain your umbrella easily and prevent yourself from embarrassing situations.
