COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Mahafiz - Sharjah - 3 July 2020

[sertac]

Hi @Frederic I am stepping out from this drive. I will be helping absolute newbie drive. Hope to drive with you soon. 

[Frederic]

Hi @Edgar Welcome to Carnity Offroad Club. This drive is a Newbie drive, as you are currently still Absolute Newbie within the club, we have a special drive for this level coming Friday in Al Qudra. Please sign out of this drive and sign up on the other drive as there is still available space.

 

 

[Edgar]

Hi @Frederic thanks for that, done 🙏

[Frederic]

RSVP is now closed for this drive.

@Jorge Stepniak Felippe will be our second lead tomorrow, as he has done quite some drives with us now and always possessed good control and communication. 

We will be having a good mix of Newbie and Fewbie level drivers, and according to the response we can slowly bump up the level and see what the Mahafiz Jungle has in store for us.

@Wrangeld will be our flying sweep tomorrow, which means he can move around within the convoy and take in temporary positions within the convoy whenever required. He will also be your main line of support. 

Deflation is an important thing, and will make the difference between struggling and making it through the soft patches without issues. So please deflate to 12-13psi and double check again after +/- 2 hours. If you have 2 pressure gauges you can crosscheck them as we have seen sometimes big differences inbetween the different pressure gauges.

As always we are strictly adhering to the COVID19 precautions, so please take note of this and keep things safe for everyone.

This drive will start at 05:00. After deflation we will arrange the convoy numbering as above and head out immediately.

Radio channel 2 will be used for all communication (446.03125 Mhz). Please make sure you have your radio programmed as per our Walkie Talkie tutorial.

See you tomorrow !

 

[syed salman raza]

Please remove my name as my car getting heated 

[Frederic]

Drive Report:

The first drive of the year where I had to wake up at 3:00. Luckily I was not the only one in the house that had to wake up so that made it a bit easier. Arrived around 04:40 and Rajeevan was already there, eagerly waiting to hit the sand with the big blue Wrangler.

Syed Salman could not make it due to technical issues on the TJ. @Incognitoes was incognito today..

As we had a strong convoy I decided to brush the newbie+ level to see how our friends were doing and i wasn’t disappointed. Having seen some people grow this much in a matter of weeks makes me really happy. 
Things went so well that we reached Fossil Rock in around 90 mins although we played around a lot on the way there. After a chat with my sweep team @Wrangeld and @Jeepie we both decided nothing was gonna hold us back today and we would head out to Faya. We took the easy track to make sure we had enough play time in Faya and came across @Ale Vallecchi and @Vanessa8580 their convoy who was doing almost same route but in reverse direction.

Upon reaching Faya we see another Carnity convoy, this time our Intermediate crew under the lead of @Javier M. They were putting tire tracks on every square meter of the area, and we decided to play on the side of Faya and do some small ridge riding on the smaller dunes towards the buggy rental exit point. 
 

It seems Carnity convoys are taking over the UAE deserts. To all newcomers, rest assured that Carnity has big future plans and that you have come to the right place for safe off-roading adrenaline !

@Jorge Stepniak Felippe was doing his first second lead and I was very impressed as he managed it brilliantly and was pro active in rerouting and communicating with the convoy. 
 

I thank all who joined and hope to meet you all soon again !

[Wrangeld]

Almost a year ago to the day, I arrived in the UAE. It was part of my plan to be driving 4x4 as one of the benefits of moving from the serene, calm surroundings of the Netherlands, where news starts with headlines like "Today the level of the River Maas Rose by 2mm". 

A group of close friends gave me and @Jeepie the gift of a dune bashing session as our going away/wedding present. We invested the money in our little TJ (along with a whole load more) and have not looked back since.

Waking at 'oh my lord o'clock this morning', as Carnity drives are starting earlier to avoid some of the summer heat, sort of made sense. More so, once we found ourselves in the dark at the entry point to Mahafiz with our intrepid companions all looking for early morning thrills. 

Deflating in the dark holds new pleasures even for experienced drivers (as I found out when I could not locate the valve to reinsert the stem) so we had an early inflation as well, but were soon underway with @Frederic in the lead. 

I think that around this area, we might rename the drive from Desert to Jungle drive. The amount of greenery is incredible. It makes for a bumpy drive and a challenge to find a smooth route. The convoy, however kept great pace and discipline until @George Francis wavered approaching a crest and got stuck. We considered digging, but a quick tug made more sense and we were off ag ain to find a few play dunes.

Watching the drive along the way it was great to se how both Newbies and Fewbies on the drive are developing their skills. @Jorge Stepniak Felippe did very well as second lead, @Rajeevan Vickneswaran has excellent control of the Wrangler and @Mehmet Volga and @Yousef Alimadadi both are getting to grips with what having all that power means in their Pajeros. @marks and @Leo Francis probably need just a little more time with their vehicles to get to grips with its capabilities. 

As @Frederic mentioned, we cleared the route towards Fosil Rock in good time that a decisiiin to continue to Faya was inevitable. Seeing the other Carnity convoys along the way of @Ale Vallecchi and @Javier M is an incredible reminder of what this club stands for and why the early starts make sense. Seeing that members grow to leaders and teachers is the essential DNA of Carnity. 

Everyone out there today has the opportunity if they want to be more involved. Everyone has the same chances. It's not often that can be said about a club with established members and structures.

Driving on past our club members, we made it to Faya and most made it to the top. Those who did not can take the learning for the next time out, when inevitably you will. 

Today, taking the conditions and route into consideration was at Newbie+ level and everyone did themselves proud. Myself and @Jeepie enjoyed the limited sweeping needed and another beautiful morning out in the desert. 

Here's to more morning and evening adventures and celebrating a year of membership in Carnity in the Winter.

And ... in case you are wondering, yesterday's news in the Netherlands "Man Bites Dog"

See you soon in the sand. 

 

[Incognitoes]

1 hour ago, Frederic said:

Drive Report:

The first drive of the year where I had to wake up at 3:00. Luckily I was not the only one in the house that had to wake up so that made it a bit easier. Arrived around 04:40 and Rajeevan was already there, eagerly waiting to hit the sand with the big blue Wrangler.

Syed Salman could not make it due to technical issues on the TJ. @Incognitoes was incognito today..

As we had a strong convoy I decided to brush the newbie+ level to see how our friends were doing and i wasn’t disappointed. Having seen some people grow this much in a matter of weeks makes me really happy. 
Things went so well that we reached Fossil Rock in around 90 mins although we played around a lot on the way there. After a chat with my sweep team @Wrangeld and @Jeepie we both decided nothing was gonna hold us back today and we would head out to Faya. We took the easy track to make sure we had enough play time in Faya and came across @Ale Vallecchi and @Vanessa8580 their convoy who was doing almost same route but in reverse direction.

Upon reaching Faya we see another Carnity convoy, this time our Intermediate crew under the lead of @Javier M. They were putting tire tracks on every square meter of the area, and we decided to play on the side of Faya and do some small ridge riding on the smaller dunes towards the buggy rental exit point. 
 

It seems Carnity convoys are taking over the UAE deserts. To all newcomers, rest assured that Carnity has big future plans and that you have come to the right place for safe off-roading adrenaline !

@Jorge Stepniak Felippe was doing his first second lead and I was very impressed as he managed it brilliantly and was pro active in rerouting and communicating with the convoy. 
 

I thank all who joined and hope to meet you all soon again !

Glad you guys had fun today!! Sorry I overslept Freddie + Crew - drank too much absinthe last night (I'm not kidding). 

Also, Are all drives going to be 5 am start going forward? (That would be hard for me unfortunately....) ....

[Leo Francis]

Thank you @Frederic and @Wrangeld for the fantastic drive today. We had a lot of fun and some new learnings. I am looking forward for more drives with you guys. I think everyone in the convoy did a great job. @Jorge Stepniak Felippe, @Rajeevan Vickneswaran, @Mehmet Volga, @George Francis, @Yousef Alimadadi and @marks, great driving guys. 

And yes, I will fix my flag next time!.

[Mehmet Volga]

I had missed to join any fewbie drives this week but today's drive was like a fewbie already! Thanks to everybody for such a great time; of course to our leaders @Frederic @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Wrangeld 

It is equally fun to read @Wrangeld's drive reports; always look forward to see it after each drive!

Photos uploaded to gallery