Fewbie Desert Drive - Faqa - Solar Park - 24 Jan 2020

[Srikumar]

Due to the shortage of time last week, there was some unfinished business on the dunes south of the Solar Panels. So lets attempt to reach there this time starting from Al Faqa. The area provides long range dunes that offer a perfect playground to ramp up the pace a bit and stretch the legs of both car and driver.  We will explore the area, and alternate between side sloping, ridge crossing, and enjoy whatever this area has to offer.

This drive is for Fewbie and above level only.  

When: 24 January 2020, Friday
Meeting time: 06:45 AM, the convoy will move sharply at 07:00 AM
Where: Al Faqa

GPS Coordinate: https://goo.gl/maps/dt57TRJ3ak4SrCkX8

Level of drive: Fewbie and above
Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 10 inches of ground clearance.
Plan: Drive and enjoy until about 12 PM, with some small breaks in between to have breakfast and snacks.
What to bring along: Some snacks, plenty of water - whatever you like with little extra to share, smiles, stories, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 12 PM

Please RSVP the below calendar event

 

[Srikumar]

@Tbone I have noticed you have signed up on both the Newbie and Fewbie drives. Which one are you attending? Accordingly please sign off from the other drive.

[Srikumar]

@Nicholas Spencer looks like you have signed up for the wrong drive as this is for Fewbie and above. Since this is the first time for you with Carnity you can join the Newbie Drive which is posted in the below link

 

 

[Tbone]

On 1/21/2020 at 3:46 PM, Srikumar said:

@Tbone I have noticed you have signed up on both the Newbie and Fewbie drives. Which one are you attending? Accordingly please sign off from the other drive.

Sorry for the late reply, I have signed off the Newbie drive. 

[Frederic]

TRIP REPORT

As it was planned to have @Srikumar leading this drive, we had to make some last minute arrangements and i got the blessing of leading this drive in my backyard area. 

We left off from Faqa area and after a few minutes it started to drizzle a bit, and the clouds didn't look very happy to see us. But after heading a bit further west, the sky started to clear up and we were greeted with creamy dunes as our buddy @Emmanuel calls them.

After seeing @Xaf driving the last couple of weeks, i wanted to give him a slightly different challenge today, and decided to put him in second lead, with the aim of perfecting his skill of offroading techniques, communication, pro-activeness, and adjusting his own style to make sure the tracks were not too much churned up. He managed brilliantly. Having @Ale Vallecchi behind him to slightly alter the track where needed, i also noticed he was in full control of the car and the skills of his mighty FJ. 

At all times we were remembered by a roaring V5 that there was an enthusiastic Hummer driver in the convoy called @Tbone. Well done buddy. 

@Jeepie and @Wrangeld had the perfect terrain today to test the suspension and agility of the little Wrangler, and you both did an amazing job.

Going through a drive that went so smoothly, i was actually expecting something might happen, and suddenly @Xaf announced on the radio that he heard a "pop" nearby. We managed to get @tjsingh to a flat surface, and quickly popped the tyre back in. I had to use my spare can of transmission fluid to fill up the floor jack, as apparently the release screw was not completely closed and i lost some oil recently, so the floorjack did not build up enough pressure. 

On our way out to the Solar Park, our Golden Patrol had another pop-out and this time it was the other tyre. After a few minutes and with the great help of @Shamil we were back on the road, or offroad  

@Adam Marston and his misses had a big smile on their faces the whole morning. Nicely driven buddy !

We've spotted falcons, gazelles, camels, and two big mature Oryx today, but most of all i've spotted a bunch of enthusiastic fellow offroaders that really enjoyed this drive, and so did i !

On the way home i saw an old fellow @G.huz who is driving now with the Pathfinder crew. Always nice to meet up with this wonderful guy. Joining this club has given the opportunity to meet such great people and i hope with the newbie convoys that @Srikumar and @Rahimdad was  grooming the same day, the Carnity family will keep on growing !

Thanks to all and see you very soon !

 

 

 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Rain hardened sand, tricky creamy dunes, roaming oryxes, tens of gazelles (too fast to photograph): nice ingredients of this nicely paced, educational, fun filled drive. Thank you all for the leading, challenging, accompanying, wondering. See you soon out there. 

[Wrangeld]

Friday started with the confusion of @Frederic speeding by us on the A66 as we made our way to the meeting point. As he was supposed to be on the way to Fossil Rock to meet @Rahimdad and @Gaurav there was a moment of doubt that we were going the right way.

One thing learned about @Frederic during the rest of our day was that he rarely goes the wrong way geographically or in the excellent leadership of the drive. @Srikumar, you were missed as much as you, potentially missed the chance to stretch your legs ... we trust the Newbies apprecaited your presence as a result.

Each drive it becomes clearer and clearer that this game is all about learning, trust, teamwork and of course having fun. Maybe this is set in stone somewhere in the Carnity Lexicon, however, as a relative newcomer to the 4x4 world I hope what is shared in these words is of value to anyone new to the 'sport'. Bide your time, learn your skills, understand as much as you can about the sand, your vehicle and your driving style. 

For sure, it's not my role to repeat the content of the excellent trip report that has been posted. @Ale Vallecchi has aready shared what was for a number of us one of the true highlights of the day - myself and @Jeepie were giddy with excitement at seeing those majestic Oryx, so what does this Fewbie have to offer? 

There's no question, conditions will not be as benign as this every week. As a result, almost without exception, when we got into trouble, putting lessons learned in earlier drives meant that refusals were few, and swiftly dealt with. @Xaf drove with a restraint that allowed the rest of us to plough through, apologies @Adam Marston if a few tracks were left a little 'dirty' ahead of you 🙄.

Drives like yesterday are the perfect chance for all of us to put what we know into practice, test the limits a little and not worry that we might be holding up more experienced drivers. Driving on the seat of your pants (just noticing what a strange turn of phrase that is!!) is fantastic, and fun and exhilarating and everything that we might actually seek as thrill seekers and adrenalin junkies (let's be honest, if this was not part of the attraction, we would be staying at home) but if you're on the edge of your capabilities all the time you tend to learn bad habits.

Our incredible team of senior drivers give up their time and experience to help us an guide us to that place where we can enjoy the 'game' AND get home safely, which is why the sort of drive we enjoyed yesterday is so incredibly important. Don't get me wrong: we crested as many dunes, cross axeled and side sloped just as much as any Fewbie drive would warrant, just a little more controlled and considered than before. We had time to line up the shot, to aim for the pocket (or more accurately to avoid it), choose our shot. Perhaps that's a feature of having just that little bit more experience and the accumulated experience makes it all feel just a little bit easier, perhaps not. 

We all learn at different speeds, so it's impossible to say. From my perspective we all learned something in the drive but more about the style of driving and how it impacts on the challenge than through the extreme challenges (although I hope we can post the video of seeing @Tbone come down the vertical slope face of the vertical descent to reassure that @Frederic has balls of steel  - after all, he did it on virgin sand! 

We do, indeed, all have to thank @tjsingh for his perfectly balanced pop outs (one on each side) so we could learn exactly how to handle this because it was the most complex recovery ... @Shamil gave us a chance to see Kinetic ropes in action as well toward the end of the drive (but he cannot be criticised for that in any way as he was just getting back to the group having sorted out pop out number 2 and we were on the way out of the dunes! Knowing @Shamil has your back and is sweeing up the drive gives you a lot of confidence you'll never be left behind. 

Carnity, you did it again. The values of the club are so deeply embedded in how these events are managed. Please let us know how we can pay this forward. 

 

[Shamil]

Upon reaching the meeting point and realizing that @Javier M and @Srikumar are not making it, i realized that I would have to step up to a sweeping role. Although this is not the first time I have sweeped, I knew I would have to be very attentive on this drive. I was anticipating a difficult day ahead since there werent any senior members besides @Frederic who was leading. 

So as the drive commenced, I rolled up my sleeves(mentally), ready to get down and dirty with rescues, shoveling and basically gearing up to all kinds of recovery methods. But what happened instead was - a very smooth drive whereby the radio was barely used since everyone managed like PROs!! We had 2 pop outs and those were the only occasions where we actually stepped out of the cars and caught up with the other drivers. 

Kudos and a major shout out to @Frederic who effortlessly, led the convoy, keeping the skills of the drivers in mind, due to which we were able to tackle the trail quite comfortably and I think i speak on behalf of all the drivers. Thank you for the detailed write up as usual @Wrangeld, it is always a pleasure to read trip reports of such fun filled days as you paint a beautiful picture through your words.

 

[Javier M]

Sorry I missed this trip I had to go to Brazil for work 😫