COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Mahafiz - Sharjah - June 5th 2020

[Incognitoes]

Thanks for the entertaining trip report Richard and everyone!! Great meeting all, special thanks to Freddie and hope to drive with you all soon!! Xx - Louise with the dog which threw up

Edited June 5, 2020 by Incognitoes

[Frederic]

Driving to Mahafiz while spotting a friendly TJ on my wings is an assurance that the day will be good... 😀

Having arrived at the meeting point at 6:45, our trusty companion @Pickey Singh was already deflating his Discovery, and the white Carnity flag was proudly blowing in the wind. @Incognitoes arrived around the same time, and brought her lovely dog Chewbacca. 

Having everyone arriving on time and even deflated by 7 has the great advantage that we can head out early which is a blessing during these hot days. A big thanks to all for that !

Having appointed @Anish S as my second lead, i knew that he has the skills to slightly reroute where needed, and he did so good.

After about the first 20 mins, in an attempt to get out of the basic track, i went over a tiny dune where i already felt that it was a bit of a "crester" and before i realized, my second lead experienced how crest-prone it was. A gentle pull of the rope was enough to bring him over and we circled back to meet our friends on the other side to reroute.

We headed out to the play area where all could practice some side-sloping. As mentioned, it  was a good opportunity to test the technicalities and differences of driving in D vs selecting tiptronic. @Nizam Deen got a bit carried away and kept trying to go higher and higher, and eventualy hit a nasty bump at the higher point of the dune. In these situations, things can quickly take a turn for the worse, so i keep stressing to all that's it OK to be enthusiastic, but never to try to go beyond the limits, or it will come back and bite very hard. Having said that, all did well and had good control over their vehicles.

We moved out and navigated towards Fossil Rock and made it up easily. For a change i did not want to descend from the regular point, but drove around it. To my surprise the track that used to be there that would easily take us around was not to be found. Another reminder on how much dunes and formations keep changing. I slightly rerouted to descend further down and while going over a very small dune with a small bump, @Pickey Singh his bottom bumper decided to wedge itself nicely inbetween the dune and the bump. A few minutes of shoveling got him out. but unfortunately the lip itself looked a bit bent.

We only encountered some small refusals in this drives, some in which  @Incognitoes recovered herself nicely, it was indeed quite clear you have driven before. Just be careful not too take quick decisions when trying to get out of the situation. Think calmly, listen to the instructions of the senior behind you, and then follow them as accurate as possible. You have driven very well today !

I was brilliantly supported by @Jeepie, @Wrangeld, and @Brette, but also got the help of other fewbies like @Mels Wolf, @Foxtrot Oscar, and @Nacho who keep coming every week and growing fast. So nice to see this.

Eagerly looking forward to the next drive ! 

 

[Anish S]

7 hours ago, Frederic said:

Driving to Mahafiz while spotting a friendly TJ on my wings is an assurance that the day will be good... 😀

Having arrived at the meeting point at 6:45, our trusty companion @Pickey Singh was already deflating his Discovery, and the white Carnity flag was proudly blowing in the wind. @Incognitoes arrived around the same time, and brought her lovely dog Chewbacca. 

Having everyone arriving on time and even deflated by 7 has the great advantage that we can head out early which is a blessing during these hot days. A big thanks to all for that !

Having appointed @Anish S as my second lead, i knew that he has the skills to slightly reroute where needed, and he did so good.

After about the first 20 mins, in an attempt to get out of the basic track, i went over a tiny dune where i already felt that it was a bit of a "crester" and before i realized, my second lead experienced how crest-prone it was. A gentle pull of the rope was enough to bring him over and we circled back to meet our friends on the other side to reroute.

We headed out to the play area where all could practice some side-sloping. As mentioned, it  was a good opportunity to test the technicalities and differences of driving in D vs selecting tiptronic. @Nizam Deen got a bit carried away and kept trying to go higher and higher, and eventualy hit a nasty bump at the higher point of the dune. In these situations, things can quickly take a turn for the worse, so i keep stressing to all that's it OK to be enthusiastic, but never to try to go beyond the limits, or it will come back and bite very hard. Having said that, all did well and had good control over their vehicles.

We moved out and navigated towards Fossil Rock and made it up easily. For a change i did not want to descend from the regular point, but drove around it. To my surprise the track that used to be there that would easily take us around was not to be found. Another reminder on how much dunes and formations keep changing. I slightly rerouted to descend further down and while going over a very small dune with a small bump, @Pickey Singh his bottom bumper decided to wedge itself nicely inbetween the dune and the bump. A few minutes of shoveling got him out. but unfortunately the lip itself looked a bit bent.

We only encountered some small refusals in this drives, some in which  @Incognitoes recovered herself nicely, it was indeed quite clear you have driven before. Just be careful not too take quick decisions when trying to get out of the situation. Think calmly, listen to the instructions of the senior behind you, and then follow them as accurate as possible. You have driven very well today !

I was brilliantly supported by @Jeepie, @Wrangeld, and @Brette, but also got the help of other fewbies like @Mels Wolf, @Foxtrot Oscar, and @Nacho who keep coming every week and growing fast. So nice to see this.

Eagerly looking forward to the next drive ! 

 

Thank you Everybody for the fantastic drive. Today, it was a challenge for me since it was my first time being second lead and I was a bit nervous at the beginning...thank you @Frederic for the amazing leadership, guidance and for giving me the opportunity to experience the second lead and doing the side slope as well...

And it was my second trip with @Wrangeld and I always get to learn something from you.... Thank you so much @Wrangeld@Brette for the support...