I borrowed a friend's older Northface Westwind this weekend and trashed the rain fly.  Now I need some advice.

The fly was very sticky and I think it was stored with a fine coating of what I now assume to be pine sap.  When I first assembled it on a 90 degree day this summer it was merely an inconvenience as I had to pull the pieces of the fly apart.  I thought the stickiness was some sort of water proofing. 

But this Saturday at Minister Creek it was much cooler and stickier.  As we were pulling the sticky sheets of rain fly apart it tore in two places.  I was with a very experienced backpacker – been there and done that on six continents and in eight languages sorta woman – and she said she had not seen anything like it.  We were literally shredding the fly in our hands.  

Today in the back yard as I was cleaning the gear I found several more small tears.  I tried a little soap and water on a spot; I might be able to clean the rain fly.  The tent and rain fly are hanging on the clothes line right now hoping to catch some rain.

I have identified the tent as Northface Westwind with Yellow/Grey body and Light Grey-Blue fly.   It is probably about 15 to 20 years old.  There are some pictures (at the Vintage Backpacking and Camping Times website).: http://www.pbase.com/losthiker/vintage_backpack&page=all

I know it’s an old tent that was probably not stored properly.  I can make all kinds of excuses, but I am a “if I break it I own it” sorta guy so I need ideas on how to fix the rain fly or replace it.  I already tried eBay and “westwind tent” returns nothing.

Can I clean it and have someone sow in patches locally?  Should I clean it and send it to North Face?  Can I buy an old fly?  Does someone make after market rain flys?

The tent is a little heavy for 3 season use but it is built like the proverbial brick outdoor toilet.  And because the rain fly has seen so much use the main body of the tent looks new. Even if I end up buying my friend a replacement tent I would still want to get this thing fixed.

Any ideas on how to fix it would be welcome.