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COVID 19 Compliant - Evening ABSOLUTE Newbie Desert Drive - Fossil Rock - Dubai - 26 Jun 2020


Gaurav

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Fossil Rock is the most famous and oldest desert offering perfect learning opportunity for absolute newbies for their first time desert driving thrilling experience.

If you have already driven in sand before then you can learn more from experts having decades of offroading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridge to test your off-road control.

Drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicle having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and front and rear tow hooks.

You can bring your family, friends and kids, but if you are absolute new to sand offroading it is better to drive alone first to learn offroading without any distractions.

AN drive.JPG

What you'll learn:

  • Introduction to off-roading
  • Desert driving basics and etiquette
  • Desert driving tips, techniques, myth and best practices
  • Off-road and safety gear familiarization and recovery procedures
  • Vehicle orientation, risk analysis, deflation and outdoor safety advice

First time with Carnity Off-road Club:

  • Please share your vehicle details below
  • Prior off-road experience (Yes/No)
  • Confirm front and rear tow hooks

Why should i join ?

  • We will teach you how to drive off-road safely and learn the best offroad driving and recovery techniques.
  • If you have already driven in sand before then you can learn more from experts having decades of offroading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridge to test your off-road control.

Can my vehicle do this ?

  • This drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicle having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and front and rear tow hooks. If in doubt please first announce your questions on the drive thread so we can advise you further.
  • Any stock 4x4/4WD are most welcome, you don't need any modified vehicle.

Can i bring passengers ?

  • Yes of course, but if you are absolute new to offroading it is better to drive alone first to avoid any distractions.

What can i expect ?

  • You will learn about the following subjects:
    • Introduction to off-roading
    • Desert driving basics and etiquette
    • Desert driving tips, techniques, myth and best practices
    • Off-road and safety gear familiarization and recovery procedures
    • Vehicle orientation, risk analysis, deflation and outdoor safety advice

Are you joining us for the first time ?

  • Please share your vehicle details below
  • Prior off-road experience (Yes/No)
  • Confirm front and rear tow hooks are in good usable condition

 

Join button.jpg

 

STRICTLY: For ABSOLUTE NEWBIE who are driving for the first time with Carnity.

 

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. 

MUST READ: Not following these rules and precautions = Not allowed to drive.

No Gathering | No Briefing | No BBQ | No Eating Together | No Touching | No Hugging

We are only allowed to drive through the desert, as we are driving on the road now. So we will only do the desert driving just by sitting inside our cars at all the times and leave the drive without socializing or coming close to each other.

 

Raptor Covid 19 Drive Image.jpg

 

How to maintain "STRICT" Social Distancing

  • Meeting point will be set slightly (100m - 200m)  inside the desert track.
  • You individually deflate your tires on the tarmac before reaching the meeting point.
    • While deflating tires, stop cars 10 meters away from any other car.
  • Drive signup on calendar will be closed on Thursday morning by 9 AM.
  • Convoy numbering and briefing will be posted here on this drive post by 6 PM on Thursday.
  • All participants need to read & acknowledge the briefing by clicking "Totally Agree" reaction on this post.
  • Every driver must have his/her own radio (walkie-talkie).
  • Switch on your radio when you reach the meeting point on the set frequency advised here.
  • Once everyone reaches to the meeting point, everyone stay inside the car at all the times.
    • Trip lead will do the roll call, convoy numbering recap, critical briefing over the radio.
    • Any suggestions or issues will be discussed over the radio too.
    • You can also speak to other members through the radio only.
    • So please make sure that your radio battery is fully charged.
  • Once all set, trip lead will start the drive as before.

 

Refusal and Recoveries with Social Distancing

  • Every drive will have 1 lead Marshal and 1 or 2 supporting senior members/crew.
  • Whenever there is a stuck or refusal, only a Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is allowed to handle the situation.
  • Everyone else including the stuck car driver, stay inside the car - AT ALL TIMES.
  • Marshal / Senior Member / Crew is only allowed to step out to access the situation and do the recoveries:
    • They will wear mask and gloves at all times when they are outside their car.
    • They will try to help self recover through the radio guidance.
    • If not they will use required recovery gear and do the needful (shovel, rope, tug or winch, as required).
    • If at any time Marshal require help, then only you are allowed to step out by wearing face mask and gloves at all times.
       

Drive completion and inflation

  • There will not be any gathering or sitting down together for food-break like before.
  • Once drive is finished, after reaching the tarmac, everyone is requested to move away 50-100 meters before starting their inflation.
  • For drivers having no compressor, can head to the near by fuel station.
  • Strictly no sharing of compressors, radio, shovel or any recovery gear, at any times.

 

Mandatory things you require to attend the drive

  • Face mask - at least TWO face mask is needed in case one get damage or fly away.
  • Disposable rubber gloves - at least two sets are needed.
  • Wear face mask and gloves at all the times, when you are out of your car.
  • Carry plenty of hand sanitizer and object sanitizer (spray).
    • Use your sanitizers generously, whenever you step out to help or recover.
    • Sanitize your hands before getting back into your car.
    • Sanitize your recovery gears, if you have used them.
  • Fully charged and programmed radio - without any excuse - No radio = No drive.

 

Mandatory precaution that you need to take at all times

  • Do not step out of your car UNLESS/OTHERWISE advised by Marshal / Senior Member / Crew.
  • No shaking hands, hugs or touching each other.
  • No sharing of food, drinks or recovery tools.
  • If you are not feeling well, please stay at home and take a lot of rest.
  • If you have travel in last 14 days, then please do not attend this drive.
  • If you feel unwell during the drive, please let trip lead know so he can plan an early exit.
  • Not more than 3 pax in a car and if all 3 aren't living together, then they should wear the mask inside the car too.
     

Join button.jpg
 

Two Way Radio Guidelines

  • Every Offroader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic.
  • We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. 
  • Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving.
  • Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops.
  • You can buy single piece ("not paired") UHF programmable radio from Dragon Mart (Dubai) from 70 - 150 AED.
  • No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it.

 

MUST WATCH: OUR NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING:

 

Drive Details

Level:  All Levels

When:  June 26 2020, Friday.

Meeting time: 4:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point: Mahafiz Tree Entrance https://goo.gl/maps/xbYhVfQ9zboEdG3i9

Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance.

What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 08:00 PM

End Point: Adnoc- https://goo.gl/maps/gq17ZbqKFfERCRdk9

 

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE:

  • Limited to 15 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 5PM.
    • 1 Lead Marshal + 2 Senior Members + 12 Members.
    • If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list
  • Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
  • Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
  • Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others.

 

PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

 

Join button.jpg

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Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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Hi @Veedooshee Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club !

Kindly share with us the following information:

- Which 4x4 are you driving ?
- Any prior offroad experience ?
- Are the vehicle's towpoints in perfect condition ?

Please go through the full drive post, video, and acknowledge you have understood the Covid19 precautions by clicking "Totally agreed" on this drive post and also on this BAN post.

If you have any questions regarding the two-way radio, flag, or other essential items for the drive, please post them here so we can help you out.

See you on Friday!

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22 hours ago, Gaurav said:

Hi @Veedooshee Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club !

Kindly share with us the following information:

- Which 4x4 are you driving ?
- Any prior offroad experience ?
- Are the vehicle's towpoints in perfect condition ?

Please go through the full drive post, video, and acknowledge you have understood the Covid19 precautions by clicking "Totally agreed" on this drive post and also on this BAN post.

If you have any questions regarding the two-way radio, flag, or other essential items for the drive, please post them here so we can help you out.

See you on Friday!

Hi @Gaurav, thank you.

- I will be driving pajero 3.5 LWB.

- No prior off-road experience.

- yes the vehicle’s towpoints are in good condition.

yes I have gone through the posts and video and already acknowledged the drive post and the Ban post as well.

Really looking forward for my first drive.

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Thanks @Veedooshee for all the confirmations. Well done.

@Leo Francis please go through the newbie briefing video, I know you have 3 years experience but still being a first time with Carnity off-road club everyone goes through that briefing. Please make sure that you have set your radio with all 5 frequencies.

Radio Frequency: Channel 1 - 446.006'25 - For tomorrow drive

Convoy List

  1. Gaurav                   Silver Pajero
  2. J J                          Red Wrangler
  3. Veedooshee           White Pajero
  4. Leo Francis            Silver FJC
  5. paolo dassi             Black Pajero
  6. Carlos Fernandez   Black Wrangler
  7. Shamil                     Black Xterra

See you guys all tomorrow

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Officially Completed "My First Drive"(as a driver instead of passenger seat😃)

Inspired and encouraged by @Anish S to join the carnity off-road club, i feel very delighted to share a little bit about my first drive under the excellent leadership of @Gaurav.

The team registered for the drive was all there in time, deflated and ready to move however there was a small heating issue with @Shamil car and unfortunately he had to exit. 

Since it was an Absolute Newbie drive (that's why i decided to join this specific one ), @Gaurav took us through some smooth and nice and easy pathway and it starts helping me experiencing how driving a car feels on the sand. For me, this was really important to achieve that self trust to attempt more and more driving in the sand and understand the reaction of my big Pajero LWB.

We then started to attempt the downward slopes (descent), i was a bit scared but eventually went through and learnt how to tackle them. As we go on the second one, i had a small refusal, @J J stopped (who was in the second lead) and even before i could communicate the refusal, he did so for me. With some advice of my co pilot @Anish S, we managed a quick self recovery.

@Gaurav then took us through some more technical dunes and even steeper slopes (where in my first drive as passenger i was almost closing my eyes 😄) and i managed them quite smoothly.

The drive continued with some ascending dunes where @Gaurav advices given before we attempt them, was indeed the game changer in how i deal with them.

Eventually we headed to the challenging dunes leading to the fossil rock where i got a stuck. @Gaurav came and did some shoveling and gave me the instructions and we managed a recovery. From there, it was straight to reaching at the top of the fossil rock. However few seconds after @paolo dassi had a stuck in around the same challenging dunes at the bottom and was guided by @Gaurav and ecovered.

At the rock was such a great sunset view. Then we headed down via the steep slope under the guidance of @Gaurav and @J J and headed towards the road.

It was a very enriching first drive for me and after the first almost half an hour, i started having more faith to handle the drive while enjoying it.

Thank you team @Gaurav for managing such a great drive, thank you @J J for always prompting me and keeping an eye for me, thank you @Leo Francis also for watching out, thank you @paolo dassi and @Carlos Fernandez as sweeper for a nice drive.

 

 

 

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Well done to all for a smooth drive.  Great first drive by @Veedooshee . My wife wouldn't even get in the vehicle off-roading with me for a million dollars :) Good job by @Leo Francis @paolo dassi @Carlos Fernandez for their calmness and composure throughout the drive . Thanks @Gaurav for those special sidies- was a good stretch of the legs :) . Unfortunate for @Shamil - hope the vehicle gets fixed soon.

Couldn't do my customary video this time , my cam was full with the morning drive. Added few pics in gallery though

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Nice drive around Fossil Rock yesterday, great fun and every drive has something to teach. The drive progressed smoothly thanks to @Gaurav and @J J as second lead, with very interesting straight ups straigh downs on pretty steep dunes. Sand in the beginning was not too soft and actually felt firmer than I expected. Convoy with @Veedooshee@Leo Francis, @Carlos Fernandez proceeded smoothly to the base of Fossil Rock, where I got stuck while climbing up. I am not sure why, car did not get the power even at full throttle, same happened to me once at Pink Rock with revs going down despite me accelerating full throttle. Also in that case heat gauge was slightly higher than normal, not in the critical area, but some 25% above usual "Sheikh Zayed road reading": could the engine cut a bit of power if temperature increases beyond a given limit? What do experts think? Anyway, I managed to come out from the refusal myself, following the suggestions @Rahimdad gave me on my very first drive, steer left and right, a bit of throttle, low gear and very important "sometimes is easier to get unstuck going backwards"... you never think about this as you naturally "look forward", but sometimes a step back is more helpful than trying to move ahead with no results! Out of that, though, I got into a pretty nasty spot slightly off the track, with very soft sand and a little dune just behind me. Car overheated seriously, so @Gaurav suggested to stop for some minutes and helped me cooling it down with water. When temperature went down to normal, I managed to get out from the situation and climb up Fossil Rock successfully. The final part of the drive was quite interesting, taking us to the end following the suggestions of @J J and @Gaurav guiding us down the slope. Overall a very enjoyable drive, always something to learn out in the desert, this time a very basic lesson for me... 3 liters of water might not be enough, especially if you need some to cool down an overheated engine! Next time, a part from drinking water, I will make sure to take some for "engine use"! Thanks to the above mentioned drivers  and to @Gaurav for having led the troop! Good luck to @Shamil to get his car fixed soon. Pictures as usual in the drive gallery.

Edited by paolo dassi
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3 hours ago, Veedooshee said:

Officially Completed "My First Drive"(as a driver instead of passenger seat😃)

Inspired and encouraged by @Anish S to join the carnity off-road club, i feel very delighted to share a little bit about my first drive under the excellent leadership of @Gaurav.

The team registered for the drive was all there in time, deflated and ready to move however there was a small heating issue with @Shamil car and unfortunately he had to exit. 

Since it was an Absolute Newbie drive (that's why i decided to join this specific one ), @Gaurav took us through some smooth and nice and easy pathway and it starts helping me experiencing how driving a car feels on the sand. For me, this was really important to achieve that self trust to attempt more and more driving in the sand and understand the reaction of my big Pajero LWB.

We then started to attempt the downward slopes (descent), i was a bit scared but eventually went through and learnt how to tackle them. As we go on the second one, i had a small refusal, @J J stopped (who was in the second lead) and even before i could communicate the refusal, he did so for me. With some advice of my co pilot @Anish S, we managed a quick self recovery.

@Gaurav then took us through some more technical dunes and even steeper slopes (where in my first drive as passenger i was almost closing my eyes 😄) and i managed them quite smoothly.

The drive continued with some ascending dunes where @Gaurav advices given before we attempt them, was indeed the game changer in how i deal with them.

Eventually we headed to the challenging dunes leading to the fossil rock where i got a stuck. @Gaurav came and did some shoveling and gave me the instructions and we managed a recovery. From there, it was straight to reaching at the top of the fossil rock. However few seconds after @paolo dassi had a stuck in around the same challenging dunes at the bottom and was guided by @Gaurav and ecovered.

At the rock was such a great sunset view. Then we headed down via the steep slope under the guidance of @Gaurav and @J J and headed towards the road.

It was a very enriching first drive for me and after the first almost half an hour, i started having more faith to handle the drive while enjoying it.

Thank you team @Gaurav for managing such a great drive, thank you @J J for always prompting me and keeping an eye for me, thank you @Leo Francis also for watching out, thank you @paolo dassi and @Carlos Fernandez as sweeper for a nice drive.

 

 

 

Well done @Veedooshee ! From the start when @AnishS joined us you always came along and helped with deflating and even communicate on the radio, that says a lot about your interest and support to him and I am glad to see you behind the wheel too ! 

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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