COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Faya - Sharjah - 19 Jun 2020

[Wrangeld]

24 minutes ago, Rizwanm2 said:

me too.. 

HI @Wrangeld what should be ideal tyre pressure for tomorrow. so we can deflate and be ready upon arrival. 

Great question. Depending on your vehicle I would advise starting on 13 psi. After last week's drive where we had a lot of problems because we had not done this early enough, we will stop after 45 minutes to check the levels and review if people are having problem.

Edited June 18, 2020 by Wrangeld

[Rizwanm2]

2 hours ago, Wrangeld said:

Great question. Depending on your vehicle I would advise starting on 13 psi. After last week's drive where we had a lot of problems because we had not done this early enough, we will stop after 45 minutes to check the levels and review if people are having problem.

copy that.. see you tomorrow. 

[J J]

Its going to be burning & humid  tomorrow guys !! get a freezer and some ice packs

[Wrangeld]

10 hours ago, RohanH said:

I am also interested in this drive 

 

Hi @RohanH Apologies, just saw the note. Unfortunately for you, we are full on this drive and as yet, there are no people that have given notice to cancel. Please do keep looking out for the drive posts. We are trying to add more drives where possible so keep your eyes peeled. 

[RohanH]

1 hour ago, Wrangeld said:

Hi @RohanH Apologies, just saw the note. Unfortunately for you, we are full on this drive and as yet, there are no people that have given notice to cancel. Please do keep looking out for the drive posts. We are trying to add more drives where possible so keep your eyes peeled. 

@Wrangeld Hi, No problem. 1 vacancy came up in evening fewbie drive. I am going for that drive. 

[Wrangeld]

The One with lots of Stucks

I am writing this covered head to toe in sand. As @Jeepie will tell you, I hate sand, but nonetheless, there's a big grin on my face after what has been, to say the least, a challenging morning for everyone (with a few honourable exceptions). 

And it all started so well. Everyone on time, almost everyone at the right start point and everyone with a compressor. A rolling brief so we could get moving quickly and a brilliant lead by @Jeepie designed to wake everyone out of their slumber. 

Perhaps we should have noted the early problems and a very early pop out from @Lorenzo Candelpergher (glad to have made your son's day) and understood this was not going to be an easy day. 

The sand is deceiving and today it was truly summer soft. Which meant our journey to fossil rock took longer than planned. @Foxtrot Oscar did an amazing job in second lead throughout and in this early stage was up with the pace and any challenge. Despite looking for more accessible routes, there were more and more refusals and Stucks.... but nothing that could not be handled.

@Nizam Deen gets a big thank you from @Vanessa8580 for being her first tow off a crest. The ropes would be busy today, but we did not realise quite how much. @Ale Vallecchi and @Frederic were busy at the back of the convoy. Not surprising because the sand was getting churned. @asifk in the Pajero and @J J  and @Nacho handled this admirably in their jeeps. It seems the Toyotas and Mitsubishi teams found the goimg a little tougher @Rizwanm2 @Jolly Abraham had a few moments. @Jorge Stepniak Felippe with the LR4 even found the going challenging.

Eventually we made it to the dirt track with the choice of ascending Fossil Rock or not. We decided against it because we hoped to make it to Faya. 

It was not to be. Technical dunes, which are not the easiest to navigate, but an essential  part of the development of driving skills proved to be filled with soft sand and an as we went cross country toward Faya and the refusals and stucks increased. Even trying to navigate through existing routes and keeping away bigger dunes, the delays continued. 

And then, the big stuck. Or as we like to think of it, the learning moment as @Nizam Deen got bogged down in a sticky bowl, and adding insult to injury with a pop out. The unpredictability of this hobby showed its fangs as @Frederic managed to get the recovery vehicle stuck as well, leaving us with a lengthy and difficult double recovery to manage. 

A massive thanks to everyone who waited patiently while we handled these recoveries. Both needed multiple tugs, and repair of a pop out. Once we got under way again it was already late so we headed for a track to exit. 

On the way we saw a lot of playable dunes, but given the time and the heat we did not want to risk more people getting stuck so we exited and inflated. 

So ... Faya will have to wait (again) or will be the first objective of the day. For the new Fewbies, I guess you know now why promotion does not come so quick. Be careful what you wish for. For everyone esle, thanks for the great discipline and the teamwork that was shown to get everyone out. 

Perhaps we did not cover as many kms as we wanted, but we learned a lot, and getting out of these tricky situations will help as you encounter more difficult terrain in the future. 

Thanks especially to the seniors on the trip @Frederic @Ale Vallecchi @Jeepie and @Vanessa8580 as it was a busy day and everyone did an amazing job. 

A quick reminder of one or two things. Fewbie and turning up without a shovel .... I will just leave that there. Shoes ... I challenge anyone still wearing flip flops or sandals to be useful in the sand when it's this hot.

See you soon in the sand. 

 

[asifk]

47 minutes ago, Wrangeld said:

The One with lots of Stucks

I am writing this covered head to toe in sand. As @Jeepie will tell you, I hate sand, but nonetheless, there's a big grin on my face after what has been, to say the least, a challenging morning for everyone (with a few honourable exceptions). 

And it all started so well. Everyone on time, almost everyone at the right start point and everyone with a compressor. A rolling brief so we could get moving quickly and a brilliant lead by @Jeepie designed to wake everyone out of their slumber. 

Perhaps we should have noted the early problems and a very early pop out from @Lorenzo Candelpergher (glad to have made your son's day) and understood this was not going to be an easy day. 

The sand is deceiving and today it was truly summer soft. Which meant our journey to fossil rock took longer than planned. @Foxtrot Oscar did an amazing job in second lead throughout and in this early stage was up with the pace and any challenge. Despite looking for more accessible routes, there were more and more refusals and Stucks.... but nothing that could not be handled.

@Nizam Deen gets a big thank you from @Vanessa8580 for being her first tow off a crest. The ropes would be busy today, but we did not realise quite how much. @Ale Vallecchi and @Frederic were busy at the back of the convoy. Not surprising because the sand was getting churned. @asifk in the Pajero and @J J  and @Nacho handled this admirably in their jeeps. It seems the Toyotas and Mitsubishi teams found the goimg a little tougher @Rizwanm2 @Jolly Abraham had a few moments. @Jorge Stepniak Felippe with the LR4 even found the going challenging.

Eventually we made it to the dirt track with the choice of ascending Fossil Rock or not. We decided against it because we hoped to make it to Faya. 

It was not to be. Technical dunes, which are not the easiest to navigate, but an essential  part of the development of driving skills proved to be filled with soft sand and an as we went cross country toward Faya and the refusals and stucks increased. Even trying to navigate through existing routes and keeping away bigger dunes, the delays continued. 

And then, the big stuck. Or as we like to think of it, the learning moment as @Nizam Deen got bogged down in a sticky bowl, and adding insult to injury with a pop out. The unpredictability of this hobby showed its fangs as @Frederic managed to get the recovery vehicle stuck as well, leaving us with a lengthy and difficult double recovery to manage. 

A massive thanks to everyone who waited patiently while we handled these recoveries. Both needed multiple tugs, and repair of a pop out. Once we got under way again it was already late so we headed for a track to exit. 

On the way we saw a lot of playable dunes, but given the time and the heat we did not want to risk more people getting stuck so we exited and inflated. 

So ... Faya will have to wait (again) or will be the first objective of the day. For the new Fewbies, I guess you know now why promotion does not come so quick. Be careful what you wish for. For everyone esle, thanks for the great discipline and the teamwork that was shown to get everyone out. 

Perhaps we did not cover as many kms as we wanted, but we learned a lot, and getting out of these tricky situations will help as you encounter more difficult terrain in the future. 

Thanks especially to the seniors on the trip @Frederic @Ale Vallecchi @Jeepie and @Vanessa8580 as it was a busy day and everyone did an amazing job. 

A quick reminder of one or two things. Fewbie and turning up without a shovel .... I will just leave that there. Shoes ... I challenge anyone still wearing flip flops or sandals to be useful in the sand when it's this hot.

See you soon in the sand. 

 

There were definitely a lot of teachable moments and the efforts of the trip leads @Wrangeld@Jeepie, @Frederic, @Vanessa8580, and @Ale Vallecchi were really commendable especially given the heat today. It was a great drive overall, despite the stucks. The one small negative thing I will say that being stopped for a while allowed me to notice how much trash people leave in the desert - empty bottles, cigarettes, even car parts. People who venture to the desert and enjoy the outdoors should be even more protective of it, but unfortunately we see the rubbish people leave behind, as evidence to the contrary. As a responsible car club, lets all of us try and do our part to keep the desert clean - and leave no trash behind ! 

[Vanessa8580]

It was a very interesting morning ....

Good job from our two new leads this morning @Jeepie and @Wrangeld. You guys did show us some nice track and tricky dunes. The sand was extremely soft and a few of the new fewbies or the ones that didn't drive in the summersand yet had a bit of a shock I guess. 

We had quite a few refusals and stucks but I didn't complain, I had to try out my new equipment so I was happy 😁 I even lost some of my new equipment when my hubby @Frederic had to cut one of my soft shackles. Luckily he didn't have to cut my rope ..... 

I agree with @Wrangeld, shoes at this time of year are really advisable unless you like having your feet burned !

Well done everyone and see you next week in the sand 

[J J]

Definitely an interesting morning. The heat , pop outs and stucks have definitely tested these superstars patience -  @Wrangeld @Frederic @Ale Vallecchi @Jeepie @Vanessa8580. Kudos.

Customary video and pics in Gallery.

[Foxtrot Oscar]

A super fun drive is what we come to expect when @Jeepie and @Wrangeld take the lead and we weren't disappointed.

The terrain was unforgiving, the sand was like silt and the vegetation resembled an English meadow or perhaps it was more akin to a Scottish bog without the water element! In the desert, in the summer....who knew?!

Add to that the challenging dunes and we were all tested to our limits, which is exactly what we want! 

I loved being behind you guys and thanks for the vote of confidence in making me second lead, I tried my best to read the route and offer an alternative path when it was needed, but sometimes I just got caught up in it and wanted to try the hard stuff too haha!

There were so many learning moments, I picked up a few tips just from watching you guys toil in that melting sun. The efforts of @Ale Vallecchi, @Frederic and @Vanessa8580 are always greatly appreciated , especially when you are watching from the comfort of an air conditioned car.😝 I would have helped, honest, but you know this covid business is very serious and I wouldn't want to break the rules 😉

Well done everyone, can't wait for next week!