camping

I am laughing at your OP, DINNNO - not because of your predicament but because the same thing happened to me in a gale in England in August. The only things holding down the tent were me and the dog, the rubbers ripped off one by one, we stepped out and the brand new tent took off across the field.
Enjoy yourself - or you could stay at a nearby B&B - the thought of a granny and a dog camping in a tent with 8 people you don't know well sounds like a nightmare to me.

The attraction?
The clue is in the name- a nine man tent? guy ropes?

1963 :I camped in a tent in Calais with my two young children and my husband. It was an orange tent pitched upon sand (large wooden tent pegs for sand). In the morning when I awoke the orange canvas was dotted all over with pretty snails' silhouettes all back lit by the early morning sun.

MawBroon
Eight men in a boat tent - and DINNNO

? And the little one said “Roll over, roll over”
So they all rolled over and one fell out ...?

Maw you are awful........... but i like it

so they all rolled over and the tent blew away …

Maw ?

As you well know Elegran I have no sense of humour whatsoever. Never have had.

Book a B&B DINNNO!

DINNO, there are several types of tent stakes you can buy -Frequently the stakes that come with the tent are useless in windy conditions - If camping on a beach you will need long stakes - You can also fill gallon zip lock bags with sand and place them inside the tent to weigh it down -

There are straight stakes and the type that screw into the ground as well as a grooved type - Pound or screw your stakes into the ground at right angles, not straight up and down - You can also use guylines for additional security -

The weight of 9 people in a tent will keep it from blowing away in the wind while sleeping - Have fun!

Are you still with us OP?

I agree with Bellanonna forget the tent and book a B&B don't forget to take the dog stroller.

I didn't know that, Gonegirl. Did you have a previous identity in which that was a major factor?

Yes they've already bought the tent. It's one of those huge ones with multiple rooms. They have only been camping with that tent once a while ago. I don't know what suggests that I don't know my relatives well.

I don't think there will be a hotel beside the campsite. And it wouldn't really be a camping experience as I'd be in a building and not a tent.

I'm asking for suggestions, if anyone knows how to hold down a tent in windy weather. I did peg mine down and it blew off anyway

And no, I wont be taking the dog, or the dog stroller. That will just add to the stress. I've payed a neighbour to look after the dog in a few days.

Dinnno
Why in the world are you contemplating a camping trip with relatives you don’t know very well?

If camping near trees you can tie guylines to them - Stakes, guylines and weight are your only options -

As already said, I can't imagine a tent with 9 people inside going anywhere, let alone blowing away.

Unless of course you will be camping in an area prone to tornadoes or cyclones.

I've already told you what to do - long strong pegs, hammered well down into the ground, at an right-angle to the pull of the ropes - but modern tents don't just have guy ropes, they have integral loops at ground level as well as the stabilizing guys from the top corners. Put your heavier luggage round the edges of the space. Don't pitch where the wind can whip down a corridor and get stronger as it nears you. Don't leave the front door wide open into the prevailing direction of the wind to turn the canvas into a billowing sail.

Search online for guidance, and take the advice of the manager of your campsite. Put whoever has most experience in charge (if you can find someone!) and work together to pitch and break camp

Have the location and phone number of a likely-sounding B&B on your mobile.

Have fun.

Elegran and I've already said that a tent containing 9 people is unlikely to go anywhere!

Not quite sure what else Dinno might want by way of advice? Fill her pyjamas with sand to add weight/ballast, ask the army to park armoured vehicles around the tent, concrete bollards to reinforce the tent pegs, some Sumo wrestlers to spend the night squatting on the tent pegs (if you go for that option, don't forget the sushi) , or possibly don't bloody well go camping

Other than that I haven't a clue.

Elegran I think your hammered well down is the best possible advice. Far too many people think they only have to push pegs into the ground. They need hammering in at the right angle. Of course then when you leave you have the problem of getting the b*** things out the ground.

Count the pegs into the ground and count them out - otherwise the next time you use the tent you will find that half-a-dozen are still littering the previous site. Then you won't have enough to hold it down firmly when the wind is in the willows and you will sail away. The next site occupants wil bless you, though, when they need extra to fill the gaps in their own defences.

Trisher I blame all those close-up advertising photos of tent pegs gently pressed slightly in at the wrong angle, with only their tips in the earth. Of course when half of them work loose and vanish, the peg-sellers will be happy to sell you a set of replacements.

Oh for heavens sake!