If you live in Cape Town and have visited the beach, chances are that you have been involved with a rogue umbrella — either you’re the owner of one or you’ve been attacked by one.
People don’t call Cape Town the ‘Windy City’ for nothing. When the wind blows, it blows hard! So, unless you’re digging to Timbuktu, your beach brolly will more than likely go on an adventure of its own.
The deadly flying umbrella. They dislodge from the sand and take off so fast that you barley have time to blink before you’re apologising to unfortunate fellow beach-goers.
Thanks to the speedy work of Peter-John Botha, we’ve been graced with some hilarious snaps of a badly behaved brolly extravaganza.
On Sunday, 30 January, one said beach umbrella took flight in Bloubergstrand and the pictures of the rescue mission are just priceless.
In the event of a flying umbrella, Botha suggests the following:
Step 1: run (either to it or to get away from it).
Step 2: tackle umbrella and prevent further movement.
Step 3: drag rogue umbrella back to beach spot.
Need extra assistance? Here is a visual aid:
Tackle the rogue umbrella. This pose has been deemed the “Cape Town scorpion” on Facebook.
It was a tough battle, but the brolly has been taken down. We repeat, the brolly has been taken down!
Finally, the beach-brolly-walk-of-shame back to your spot. Apologies to fellow beach-goers are recommended.
A flying umbrella can cause serious injuries. So, if it’s windy at the beach, it’s always safest to put your umbrellas down to avoid injuring anybody.
Also read:
Look! Cape Town photographer captures the “biggest great white shark I have ever seen”
Pictures: Peter-John Botha / shared with permission / do not redistribute.