COVID 19 Compliant - Evening Fewbie Desert Drive - Solar Park - Dubai - 5 June 2020

[Lorenzo Candelpergher]

Dear @Emmanuel, due to a sudden family emergency I am unfortunately forced to cancel my RSPV at the last minute. I hope someone can jump in a the last second.

My apologies, Lorenzo 

 

[J J]

Fantastic route @Emmanuel ! And usual great support from @Rahimdad and @Shamil. Everybody did great and of course the girl power crew @Vanessa8580 @Desert Dweller   with some great driving skills . Unfortunate Shamil got stuck in a tight spot nevertheless , was a fun technical drive ! 

Posted some pics in the Album and here is a video from my side! Enjoy

 

[Desert Dweller]

12 hours ago, J J said:

Fantastic route @Emmanuel ! And usual great support from @Rahimdad and @Shamil. Everybody did great and of course the girl power crew @Vanessa8580 @Foxtrot Oscar with some great driving skills . Unfortunate Shamil got stuck in a tight spot nevertheless , was a fun technical drive ! 

Posted some pics in the Album and here is a video from my side! Enjoy

 

A small correction as I was the other female driver whereas @Foxtrot Oscar was my copilot, who did the morning drive though. 😁

[J J]

12 minutes ago, Desert Dweller said:

A small correction as I was the other female driver whereas @Foxtrot Oscar was my copilot, who did the morning drive though. 😁

Edited !

[Rinelle Sanaani]

16 hours ago, J J said:

Fantastic route @Emmanuel ! And usual great support from @Rahimdad and @Shamil. Everybody did great and of course the girl power crew @Vanessa8580 @Desert Dweller   with some great driving skills . Unfortunate Shamil got stuck in a tight spot nevertheless , was a fun technical drive ! 

Posted some pics in the Album and here is a video from my side! Enjoy

 

 

Nice video JJ..  it was a fun and techinical ride with u guys.. 

Also @Emmanuel it was really a great lead from the past 2 drive with u.. 

 

[Rahimdad]

Trip Report.

Firstly I hope all is well with you @Lorenzo Candelpergher, we all missed you and please let any one of us know if we can be of any assistance to you and your family. Our thoughts are with you and your family during your trying times.

@Jorge Stepniak Felippe hope your right hand is feeling better and looking forward to driving with you soon.

With the start of the summer and with the Covid19 restrictions in place and dynamic as required by each Emirates, it is always a difficult decision on which drive I want to support. This week it was made easier for me as @Xaf had a training session which allowed me to sneak in to support @Emmanuel drive. This happened after quite some time and I was well behind our Original Velociraptor. Although I understand that the drives nowadays are hotter than the climate and are full before you know it, but once you sign up there is enough time to go through the main post and make notes of the requirements well in time. All information is given on the main post and on Thursday the convoy numbering and radio channel to be used is also given. If you are unable to make mental notes, please grab a pen and a paper and make the notes for your self. Where is the meeting point? What kind of drive level to expect? Time? What is required of you for each drive, deflation at or close to meeting point? It is also paramount responsibility for everybody in the group to read, understand and apply all the safety rules and regulations laid out by the government for us, this is also highlighted by Carnity to give clarity how and where these apply to us to be able to continue our weekly drives without being pulled out or fined by the authorities. Carnity has taken a bold step to bring these drives for you following the guidelines in these challenging times, we should take step to ensure we are aware and respect these guidelines.

After deflation we got into our positions, @Emmanuel in the lead, @Desert Dweller in second lead, @Szymon Stankiewicz in third, @Jolly Abraham fourth, @Vanessa8580 centre forward, @J J, @Lucky sAm, @Shamil, @Najeeb Mohammed, @Rinelle Sanaani and swept by me. As we raced around 7 kilometres along a rough track to get to our preferred set of dunes we had to take a stop for one of us to deflate. Once deflation was completed we were off to a lovely but slightly difficult set of dunes. Being in a Fewbie drive it was perfect to have a feel and adjust our driving styles to match the terrain. Very quickly @Najeeb Mohammed realised how much easier it becomes when you deflate by 1 PSI, he started on 13 PSI and within 10 minutes deflated further to 12 PSI. After this 1 PSI he looked much more settled.

I was please with what I saw from @Desert Dweller who has come a long way and feeling more confident with her X. The stars for this drive for me were both @Szymon Stankiewicz and @Jolly Abraham who were driving the most under powered vehicles in the group but did not let any dune in their way. @Vanessa8580 was the life of the party with her spirits as high as the temperatures out there and amazed me at how well she knew and could handle her Big Blue, watch her drive was a treat. So yes, girl power all the way, very pleased to see the enthusiasm and the way they have absorbed the knowledge around and how they use this knowledge to help everybody around. True community. @J J seems to enjoy the space he is in at the moment and the short video posted gives such a beautiful sight to our drive. Thank you. What should I say about @Lucky sAm, he is so confident at this level of drive and really knows when to push his machine and it is a wonderful feeling to see that monster tear the dunes, I am talking about his Y62.

@Shamil has improved over time and is becoming every bit of an off-roader you would expect, he is very keen to help and always out there to assist in any way he can, Having said that there is still room for improvement, but he has proved earlier that once he sets his mind he is focused and comes on top as a winner. Unfortunately for him he tried to give way to others by backing up straight in to a pocket on this drive. @Najeeb Mohammed discovered the magic of the FJ after just 1 PSI extra deflation and may have even surprised himself on some of those soft melting dunes. @Rinelle Sanaani is a sweetheart and has followed the tracks set by the vehicles in front of him and reacted very well to the situations presented during the tough times. He has also followed instructions as and when required. He has look forward to advise at times but does not voice it till noticed by someone and approach him if help is required, like backing up when unsure. Good thing is when advise given he has followed it to the finest and come out of the situation by visualising what the Marshal is trying to convey to him. All good traits but would like him to be more vocal whether he needs and advise or wants to discuss anything regarding off-roading, we are all here to help and learn from each other.

Due to @Shamil being stuck in the pocket, @Emmanuel came back to the rescue, but looking at the time and deciding a winch would be nice with @Gaurav bhai not far from us, @Emmanuel decided to drive the rest of the convoy out and bring in the help in the form of @Gaurav bhai. We had time to think, reflect and try, but not to hard so that we do not make it any tougher than it already was. As we continued to dig, take rest and than dig some more, I saw a light which later turned out to be the moon in all its beauty and bright. Finally the welcome lights heading towards us signalled the arrival of the heroes we awaited. Even after night fall the area was not so easy to negotiate, so they had to come around which took about 2 minutes extra but saved us a lot of soft sand pits. Quickly the calculators were out making calculations to the finest fraction, the all might winch was released to go to work, and with great accuracy every inch was conquered. The situation was so grave that we had to change the angle 3 times until we could claim victory. Alas the hard work was done and the smiles around showed that with precision team work we can manage any obstacles.

As we headed out we noticed that with Sharjah curfew starting at 10 pm it would be most critical for me to reach home in time. One request from @Gaurav bhai and each of my tires was being inflated by everyone left behind. In less than 5 minutes I was on the road and racing, but the 10 pm curfew was already in place. I tried to relax for the entire drive back home knowing Dubai curfew started at 11 pm, however the last 10 minutes as I entered Sharjah territory were nerve wrecking. I crossed 3 Police Vehicles on the way and let 1 drive in front of me till it disappeared, Being late parking was also not easy to find as I saw a Police vehicle take a U-turn from a distance and head towards me. I just parked my car in the first rough spot I saw and sneaked away in to the shadows as the Police vehicle crossed me and ran home. What an experience. Strange times, strange fears, strange restrictions, but this experience teaches me to be more hands on and time conscious during these scary times. Till next time when we create more moments that add to our treasures of memories.

[Desert Dweller]

Thank you @Rahimdad for the continuous kind words of encouragement and support that kept me looking forward to Carnity drives each week (When are we going to get midweek drives on the go? 😉). The highlight of the drive was to see you out in the sand again!

It would be remiss of me not to mention how much I enjoyed the drive and the scenery. Excellent job @Emmanuel choosing such a beautiful and hidden part of Dubai. Chapeau!!

Last but not least, the opportunity to experience the crisscross and the expert demonstration given was of an immense value. Thank you! 

[Rinelle Sanaani]

Thank u so much for the kind words @Rahimdad...specially the quick wit advise along the ride..i am always watching out and admiriing, how u react and how u move around the convoy . The freedom . u are a great sweeper.. saying to my self , i wanna learn more to be a sweeper.. its really fun art to watch.. 

Ive been willing to ask, at one point in the tricky trail where we one by one go down  then up, where i didnt hav the momentum and power to push thru.. donubthink its best to put the gear to 1 while going down to hav more power uphill? 

I havent tried it... but i would love to learn it. 

[Lorenzo Candelpergher]

Dear @Rahimdad thanks for the kind words. Luckily everything ended up just fine, even though it sounds I missed a great ride at Solar Park, which makes me even more eager to catch up with the next one!

[Rahimdad]

@Rinelle Sanaani you are on the right track and it takes years of practice along with some sand reading to perfect your every move. You are on track and making good progress. Surely you can experiment with gears manually now that you are more aware of the surroundings and manage yourself very well, we are there to support you always if things don't go the way you plan. You are also in luck as we are coming up with something for those who would like to learn in detail, you will see it announced soon on the forums and we are expecting a lot of excitement and developing interested members in a more comprehensive way. Keep tuned to your very own Carnity website for our exciting new product launch.