One of the lessons we learned that first year was that not all beach shelters are created equal. Everyone loves umbrellas. Thats all we saw that first year. But of the umbrellas we noticed, they all looked small, half buried in the sand, structurally weak and barely able to provide shade for a single individual. We needed something bigger. It started with a straight post, 4 leg canopy. You’ve seen them being hauled out, correction…wheeled out…because they can be quite heavy. After the 2 person assembly we quickly realized that the onshore breezes that are native to the beach were attempting to blow our canopy down the beach. The only solution was to fight back. Add weights. Add tie down lines. At the end of the day we didn’t get to enjoy the shade, no one was happy, and the kids didn’t care. All the time wasted building it would now be time wasted taking it down and transporting it back to the condo rental. Big ‘L’. Two lessons were learned that day. Shelter at the beach should be easy to transport and quickly assembled. The following year was spent looking options and alternatives.
