Al Qudra Newbie Desert Drive - 21 Feb 2020

[Jun Zamora]

Hi .  i would like to thank TJ and everyone in our convoy who helped me out when i got stuck. and Srikumar for leading us to another level of slopes that made our ride more thrilling. Looking forward for more challenging  dunes but hopefully not with my Murano unless you guys have more shovels.

see you guys on our next event.

[Wrangeld]

Friday’s Fun in the Sand

I think it’s fair to say, after the winter rains, the sand is getting drier.  The ‘hero’ drives, after the rain, when 4x4 was easy are well and truly over. Quite a few of us spent much of Friday knee (and in some cases, thigh) deep in sand digging out our friends who just a short few weeks ago had thought – what’s all the fuss about? Well … this!

Friday was a mammoth day. 34 drivers in three Newbie convoys in the morning and 12 on an afternoon Fewbie drive.

Before any details, I’m gonna get something off my chest. The pre-drive briefing is not optional. It’s not OK to arrive late. Or deflate while it’s going on. Or make it look obvious you ‘heard-it-all-before’. A safety briefing is given every time you fly, and they don’t let you ignore it for some of the same reasons these briefings are not optional.

When the *&it hits the fan, you might just remember enough to help you follow those instructions to save your life. @Xaf (back me up here?). In your 4x4 it’s no different. The stuff you hear in the briefing might just sink in enough so that when you are being calmly instructed to turn or reverse or do nothing, that you follow the instruction instead of turning ‘the other left’ or digging yourself into an axle deep hole in the sand.

Oh. And it’s simply polite. If 30 odd people can get up early and get to the meeting point on time … OK. Rant over.

I imagine that while we are tucked up in bed on Thursday nights dreaming about the dunes (or whatever else you may be dreaming about [please, this is not a request to share]), @Srikumar, @Gaurav @Emmanueland @Frederic are looking at the list of probable attendees at the drives and trying to work out who goes in which convoy and where. Why? Because, by the time we all turn up its organized and all we have to do is take our place in line and off we go. [Perhaps, sometimes it does not feel quite as immediate as that, but convoy placement is not just a case of sticking a line of cars in the sand.]

And off we go, we did. The three radio channels no longer interfere with each other, the convoys are not too long and with (in my case) @Frederic in the lead we know that the challenges will be, well, challenging while staying in the bounds of the capabilities of the drivers.

Having been on a few newbie drives, I am pleased to say this one was quite ‘standard’. We had our share of refusals, and challenges and found ourselves digging from time to time, and pretty much, in our convoy everyone acquitted themselves extremely well. @Colin Jordan 'allowed' Cara to take the wheel of her car in the same way that @Jeepie allows me to drive from time to time  As ever, the Wranglers in the crew motored on almost without incident @bunty_and_pops @Febin Frederic well done. You keep up the reputation beautifully. 

As ever we learned a thing or two about the sand and about recoveries. Thank you to everyone who conveniently got stuck. Without these opportunities to try recovery techniques they stay theoretical.

As ever, we also had our fair share of laughs. Highlight of the day of course was the battle of the Pajeros.

Actually, before I do that, the true highlight of the day was @Vanessa8580. The original plan for this drive was that she would take the wheel of the Pajero and Frederic would be her passenger. For other reasons, Frederic ended up leading so Vanessa could not drive. However, having cleared the stuck you’ll read about below, @Vanessa8580 took the wheel of the car and with a gleeful smile as wide as the horizon launched little Pajero flying over the same dune that had defeated @md sarfaraz . I am sure I heard a scream of ‘Yeehaa’ through the window and over the considerable engine noise, but cannot be 100% sure.

Back to the battle of the Pajeros. To set the scene, big Pajero (crested on a dune) would not succumb to the best efforts of our spades and shovels so it was decided Frederic would recover with the kinetic ropes. So far so good. Everything was set up perfectly. Soft shackles attached, everyone out of the way, drivers in their seats, radio communications correctly made.

Like David vs. Goliath the battle line was drawn as the tiny Pajero took up its stance to pull back its big brother. All checks had been made: 4 low, reverse, parking brake off. One, two, three and … nothing. Undeterred our brave champion set up for another go. One, two, three. Give it some gas. Again nothing.

Approaching the stuck vehicle I decided to make sure all the instructions were understood. Reverse, handbrake off, 4 low, straighten the wheels … hmmmm your engine sounds rather quiet, are you sure you turned on the ignition and the engine is actually running?  

The rest, as they say is history (and will probably go down in Carnity history, as apparently this has not been an issue before).  

After that, the newbie drive was quite uneventful. The fewbie drive could be called plain sailing. Sailing into sand that is. Acting as second lead to @Emmanuel was a fantastic opportunity to exercise restraint and care for those coming behind.

These technical dunes are an excellent playgound for the Jeep of myself and Jeepie. It has to be said, however, the technical dunes of Solar Park were quite a challenge for the long wheel bases of many of the following pack just about everyone had a challenging moment (my own, cresting a dune as Emannuel asked me to take a different line while I was already commited to a dune!).

Notwithstanding the whole crew @Jeffrey Osito Pilgreen @Lucky sAm @Joe Biju Joseph @Mahmoud Hamzawy @bony raphi @Rizwanm2 had their moment(s).

I think it’s best to leave it that @Brette had a chance to not only test but to perfect his recovery skills with the rope, while the rest of us had enough time to prepare all the Instagram images (@Michael sammy @Joe Biju Joseph), we might want of our vehicles in the desert. I was truly delighted that we took advantage of every last moment of the light before sunset before exiting, re-inflating and driving back to the city.

Apologies if I missed out any names. Thanks one and all. Special call out to @Joe Biju Joseph whi is back off to Australia now the summer vacation is over. We are going to miss your green Hummer on the dunes mate. 

See you soon in the sand

[Jefy]

Nicely written Wrangled.

Regarding the briefing and being on time.

I am not one of the organizers, nor senior, I am like all of us an enthusiast that has a lot to learn.

Carnity gives you the opportunity to join the club on a fewbie level. Organized by enthousiasts without sponsoring.

It is a group with multi nationals, backgrounds, type of cars etc.

Because of the amount and diversity of newbies, there has to be a standard to get everybody on the same line before starting the drive.

It is a Necessity! Respect! Towards the group of Carnity to be on time and listen to the briefing. Also when you’ve heard the briefing multiple times.

Yes, you might loose your concentration during the briefing, Especially in the early morning, (dreaming about your pillow and blanket in bed), if you would only pick up 5% what have been said/ discussed, we still achieved something, we learned you something new, or we confirmed what u already knew, so give you extra confidence.

This is a team sport, lets show respect to each other and come on time, and take the effort to listen to the briefing.

 

 

 

[Frederic]

1 hour ago, Wrangeld said:

Friday’s Fun in the Sand

I think it’s fair to say, after the winter rains, the sand is getting drier.  The ‘hero’ drives, after the rain, when 4x4 was easy are well and truly over. Quite a few of us spent much of Friday knee (and in some cases, thigh) deep in sand digging out our friends who just a short few weeks ago had thought – what’s all the fuss about? Well … this!

Friday was a mammoth day. 34 drivers in three Newbie convoys in the morning and 12 on an afternoon Fewbie drive.

Before any details, I’m gonna get something off my chest. The pre-drive briefing is not optional. It’s not OK to arrive late. Or deflate while it’s going on. Or make it look obvious you ‘heard-it-all-before’. A safety briefing is given every time you fly, and they don’t let you ignore it for some of the same reasons these briefings are not optional.

When the *&it hits the fan, you might just remember enough to help you follow those instructions to save your life. @Xaf (back me up here?). In your 4x4 it’s no different. The stuff you hear in the briefing might just sink in enough so that when you are being calmly instructed to turn or reverse or do nothing, that you follow the instruction instead of turning ‘the other left’ or digging yourself into an axle deep hole in the sand.

Oh. And it’s simply polite. If 30 odd people can get up early and get to the meeting point on time … OK. Rant over.

I imagine that while we are tucked up in bed on Thursday nights dreaming about the dunes (or whatever else you may be dreaming about [please, this is not a request to share]), @Srikumar, @Gaurav @Emmanueland @Frederic are looking at the list of probable attendees at the drives and trying to work out who goes in which convoy and where. Why? Because, by the time we all turn up its organized and all we have to do is take our place in line and off we go. [Perhaps, sometimes it does not feel quite as immediate as that, but convoy placement is not just a case of sticking a line of cars in the sand.]

And off we go, we did. The three radio channels no longer interfere with each other, the convoys are not too long and with (in my case) @Frederic in the lead we know that the challenges will be, well, challenging while staying in the bounds of the capabilities of the drivers.

Having been on a few newbie drives, I am pleased to say this one was quite ‘standard’. We had our share of refusals, and challenges and found ourselves digging from time to time, and pretty much, in our convoy everyone acquitted themselves extremely well. @Colin Jordan 'allowed' Cara to take the wheel of her car in the same way that @Jeepie allows me to drive from time to time  As ever, the Wranglers in the crew motored on almost without incident @bunty_and_pops @Febin Frederic well done. You keep up the reputation beautifully. 

As ever we learned a thing or two about the sand and about recoveries. Thank you to everyone who conveniently got stuck. Without these opportunities to try recovery techniques they stay theoretical.

As ever, we also had our fair share of laughs. Highlight of the day of course was the battle of the Pajeros.

Actually, before I do that, the true highlight of the day was @Vanessa8580. The original plan for this drive was that she would take the wheel of the Pajero and Frederic would be her passenger. For other reasons, Frederic ended up leading so Vanessa could not drive. However, having cleared the stuck you’ll read about below, @Vanessa8580 took the wheel of the car and with a gleeful smile as wide as the horizon launched little Pajero flying over the same dune that had defeated @md sarfaraz . I am sure I heard a scream of ‘Yeehaa’ through the window and over the considerable engine noise, but cannot be 100% sure.

Back to the battle of the Pajeros. To set the scene, big Pajero (crested on a dune) would not succumb to the best efforts of our spades and shovels so it was decided Frederic would recover with the kinetic ropes. So far so good. Everything was set up perfectly. Soft shackles attached, everyone out of the way, drivers in their seats, radio communications correctly made.

Like David vs. Goliath the battle line was drawn as the tiny Pajero took up its stance to pull back its big brother. All checks had been made: 4 low, reverse, parking brake off. One, two, three and … nothing. Undeterred our brave champion set up for another go. One, two, three. Give it some gas. Again nothing.

Approaching the stuck vehicle I decided to make sure all the instructions were understood. Reverse, handbrake off, 4 low, straighten the wheels … hmmmm your engine sounds rather quiet, are you sure you turned on the ignition and the engine is actually running?  

The rest, as they say is history (and will probably go down in Carnity history, as apparently this has not been an issue before).  

After that, the newbie drive was quite uneventful. The fewbie drive could be called plain sailing. Sailing into sand that is. Acting as second lead to @Emmanuel was a fantastic opportunity to exercise restraint and care for those coming behind.

These technical dunes are an excellent playgound for the Jeep of myself and Jeepie. It has to be said, however, the technical dunes of Solar Park were quite a challenge for the long wheel bases of many of the following pack just about everyone had a challenging moment (my own, cresting a dune as Emannuel asked me to take a different line while I was already commited to a dune!).

Notwithstanding the whole crew @Jeffrey Osito Pilgreen @Lucky sAm @Joe Biju Joseph @Mahmoud Hamzawy @bony raphi @Rizwanm2 had their moment(s).

I think it’s best to leave it that @Brette had a chance to not only test but to perfect his recovery skills with the rope, while the rest of us had enough time to prepare all the Instagram images (@Michael sammy @Joe Biju Joseph), we might want of our vehicles in the desert. I was truly delighted that we took advantage of every last moment of the light before sunset before exiting, re-inflating and driving back to the city.

Apologies if I missed out any names. Thanks one and all. Special call out to @Joe Biju Joseph whi is back off to Australia now the summer vacation is over. We are going to miss your green Hummer on the dunes mate. 

See you soon in the sand

Fantastic report that has become our weekly journal we all look forward too. 
Fully agree on the drive briefing: Coming on time and attending the briefing is something we keep asking everyone and that comes naturally if you respect each other’s time. Considering the fact that you’ll remember maybe 25% of the briefing on your first drive means that you’ll need to attend at least 4 full sized briefings before things slowly start to creep into your mind, let alone using these tactics in action.  It’s also disappointing to see that although we have so many MUST READ articles on the forum,  but seeing people showing up without having anything read.  Ok rant over 😉.

Again we had experiences, stories, laughter, Newbies who did great and were enthusiast, and our dose of healthy sun. And that makes it all worthwhile !

PS I heard that Yihaah too when my little blue one flew over the dune 😅

[Gaurav]

We are glad to see that many real enthusiasts here notice and think alike on respecting each other time and attending brief is must for everyone.

If you are a newbie, you still need to learn, if you are at fewbie or intermediate then you have to help and teach others like you have been helped few weeks back. It's called - "Pay it forward" (Google it, for people who aren't familiar with this).

Get engaged in the morning briefing, meet and get to know new faces with whom you will be sharing your rest of the day, helping them or getting their help when you are stuck.

If you have 3-4 hours for driving then spare some time for briefing and debriefing as those few minutes of investment, will help you enjoy your 3-4 hours of driving without breaking bumpers or bones.

[Rizwanm2]

As always Friday morning was always exiting for me. but last friday i was so hungry for desert since we did not had any newbie or fewbie drive the week before. 2 weeks is too much for me to digest the 1 Friday drive session. so i ended signing up for morning newbie drive and my very first fewbie drive in the afternoon.  

thank you @Gaurav for offering me second lead of your convoy. it was very good drive with most of absolute newbies in our convoy. i think everyone had their fare share of drive lessons as well as recoveries. thank you everyone for participating and a successful event. see you all next time... 

[Nayan Shenai]

@Rizwanm2 - Yes I agree the drive was quite a LEARNER for the absolute newbies.

[RohanH]

Hello Everyone,

It was my first time. And I felt it was great fun. I learned a lot and also lot to learn. I am definitely looking forward to join more of this unless I will be with busy hanging out with friends. 

Does this group have any whatsap group. If yes please add me.  

Apart from this, when we have so much to share then app mighy be helpful rather than website. Sorry, its just suggestion.

Regards,

 

[Frederic]

56 minutes ago, RohanH said:

Hello Everyone,

It was my first time. And I felt it was great fun. I learned a lot and also lot to learn. I am definitely looking forward to join more of this unless I will be with busy hanging out with friends. 

Does this group have any whatsap group. If yes please add me.  

Apart from this, when we have so much to share then app mighy be helpful rather than website. Sorry, its just suggestion.

Regards,

 

Hi @RohanH glad to hear you enjoyed !

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