COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Bab al Shams Loop - Dubai - 4 Sep 2020

[Ale Vallecchi]

19 minutes ago, Islam Soliman said:

Thanks a lot @Ale Vallecchi for the wonderful drive.. great experience and lots of learning.. it was a strange day starting with nice gazelle pack while entering and ending with the amazing oryx while existing .. centered with the poor little injured gazelle .. hope she is ok now..

 

the drive itself was interesting, the terrain looked ok (would say easy) but proved to be challenging than what it looks.. lots of stucks sagely recovered thanks to the iron man one and only @Brette😂 and then my curtain airbags going off for no known reason. it’s a day that I will for sure remember ..

 

enjoy the weekend everyone and see you soon on the sand..

 

P.S. @Ale Vallecchi pls let us know the updates of the gazelle !

 

 

@Islam Soliman thanks for joining the drive. You are certainly handling the big Yukon with ever greater ease. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the report, cars' brains are not programmed for off-roading, so that accidents like yours do happen quite often. I hope you can fix the air-bags quickly, and to see you back on the sand soon. You didn't let the incident rattle your driving , which is good (as it wasn't your fault).

Also, unfortunately, we were too late to save the gazelle, which had passed away by the time we reached it. I take comfort in knowing we did the best we could under the circumstance, and that probably the little one would have died anyway of its wounds. But thanks for assisting it, and volunteering your car as an "ambulance". 

[Islam Soliman]

35 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

EVENTFUL DAY IN QUDRA BASIN - Bab al Shams' Loop Report

Nice drive today in the so called "Bab al Shams" sector of the Qudra Basin. Punctual members, incremental levels of difficulty along the route, and a few adventurous moments. Actually, a couple of these unexpected situations have taken center stage, and have pushed in the background an overall impressive performance by all the drivers. To be specific, and give dues where dues are owed, @Jolly Abraham carried out an impeccable Second Lead, always correcting properly, and communicating smoothly. @Islam Soliman confirmed his skills at maneuvering such an extra-large car. @Lisa Pemberton delivered an impressive performance (extra kudos for making it all the way from RAK). @luwaimncontinued his progress, building up his confidence on the slopes (which will grow exponentially as soon as he'll understand his car's full potential). Likewise @Yousef Alimadadi progressed nicely throughout the day, overcoming some initial hesitance to show very good command and control. @Mehmet Volga and @Heisem handled their backward position, and the sometimes churned sand, without batting an eyelid. Finally @Biju Abdul swept the convoy with precision and flair (as he managed his FJ). Special mention for @Brette, who anchored the convoy and assisted on refusals and stucks, with patience and competence.

Now, back to the adventurous moments. In chronological order, the first was the encounter with a very young wounded gazelle. It appeared in front of my car as I was coming down a side slope, hiding in the shade of a small bush. The fact that it didn't move made me suspicious, and decided to take a break from the drive to check it out. Unfortunately, the little one had some wounds on its back (maybe from a vulture?). The convoy agreed to see if we could tend to the gazelle, which we did by providing it with some water, and by calling the Municipality (all animal rescue places were closed). Contrarily to our instinct, to take it out of the desert to Qudra Parkimg, we were told that we should not move it: the area is part of Al Marmoon Conservation Area, and the information we got was that nothing can be taken from it, under no circumstances. The Municipality informed us that someone will be sent to pick the gazelle up, so we left it under some shade, on a straw mat provided by Islam, extra water care of Yousef, and a flag, care of @Srikumar (who had come to aid us from his nearby Newbie convoy) to identify the bush where the little animal was resting. Fast forward to the end of the drive, the Municipality had contacted Heisem (who had called them in the first place) and informing us that they could not locate the gazelle, asked us if we could go back and take it out. After leaving the rest of the convoy at the exit point, we went back, with Jolly, Heisem and Brette, hell bent on our rescue mission (upping the drive from Fewbie to Intermediate 😅). Unfortunately, upon reaching the flag-marked bush we could not do anything else but confirm to the Municipality that very sadly the little gazelle had died from its wounds. Nonetheless we did our best, and learned a lesson in how the conservation area is managed, rightly so, by the laws of wild nature.

As for the second surprise of the day, that was certainly one that Islam would have done without. Fact is that most cars are programmed to be driven on mostly flat surfaces, and their computers don't understand their driver's crave for off-roading. It so happened that, coming down from a small slope, just after crossing a low ridge, the big Yukon's electronic brain must have thought it was rolling to one side, and decided to save Islam by exploding its lateral air-bags. A stark, and unfortunate, reminder that all electronics should be switched off (or manually disabled) before going into the desert, so that a rather simple obstacle (Islam didn't seem to have any difficulty at all, navigating the ridge and the descent) doesn't transform itself in a dire problem. Wish Islam will be able to have his car back ASAP.

As for the drive itself, after a technical briefing on riding ridges and crossing dunes, and a couple of practices (one driver at the time), it was clear that the whole convoy was able to manage such skills. We progressed from the western part of Qudra (closest to Bab al Shams) in a northerly direction, through a couple of sabkhas, so that we could then travel southward, and back west, and cross the mostly compact, wind-swept side of the longer open dunes, which in this area also offer abundant possibilities of side sloping, as well as some "bowl" areas.

In the end, we traveled for 4 hours, including the stops for the briefing, the attempted rescue and the air-bags incident, for a total of 50 Km, at an average speed of 12 Kms/h (and moving average speed of 24 Kms/h).

Splendid video @Islam Soliman. Well done! 

So sad to hear about the gazelle not making it 😢

[Islam Soliman]

20 hours ago, Rahimdad said:

@Lisa Pemberton if you need the Viking rope I have a few sets with me, let me know in advance so I can have one ready for you by next week.

 

Hi @Rahimdad if you still have these I am interested .. pls let me know.. thx 

[Rahimdad]

Hi @Lisa Pemberton and @Islam Soliman. I will be getting more stock within this week and can hand it over. Will let you know once I have them ready.

@Islam Soliman Really sorry to hear about your air bags deploying. Really sad that these cars have the off road gear, but programming is for an on-road vehicle.

[Biju Abdul]

5 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

EVENTFUL DAY IN QUDRA BASIN - Bab al Shams' Loop Report

Nice drive today in the so called "Bab al Shams" sector of the Qudra Basin. Punctual members, incremental levels of difficulty along the route, and a few adventurous moments. Actually, a couple of these unexpected situations have taken center stage, and have pushed in the background an overall impressive performance by all the drivers. To be specific, and give dues where dues are owed, @Jolly Abraham carried out an impeccable Second Lead, always correcting properly, and communicating smoothly. @Islam Soliman confirmed his skills at maneuvering such an extra-large car. @Lisa Pemberton delivered an impressive performance (extra kudos for making it all the way from RAK). @luwaimncontinued his progress, building up his confidence on the slopes (which will grow exponentially as soon as he'll understand his car's full potential). Likewise @Yousef Alimadadi progressed nicely throughout the day, overcoming some initial hesitance to show very good command and control. @Mehmet Volga and @Heisem handled their backward position, and the sometimes churned sand, without batting an eyelid. Finally @Biju Abdul swept the convoy with precision and flair (as he managed his FJ). Special mention for @Brette, who anchored the convoy and assisted on refusals and stucks, with patience and competence.

Now, back to the adventurous moments. In chronological order, the first was the encounter with a very young wounded gazelle. It appeared in front of my car as I was coming down a side slope, hiding in the shade of a small bush. The fact that it didn't move made me suspicious, and decided to take a break from the drive to check it out. Unfortunately, the little one had some wounds on its back (maybe from a vulture?). The convoy agreed to see if we could tend to the gazelle, which we did by providing it with some water, and by calling the Municipality (all animal rescue places were closed). Contrarily to our instinct, to take it out of the desert to Qudra Parkimg, we were told that we should not move it: the area is part of Al Marmoon Conservation Area, and the information we got was that nothing can be taken from it, under no circumstances. The Municipality informed us that someone will be sent to pick the gazelle up, so we left it under some shade, on a straw mat provided by Islam, extra water care of Yousef, and a flag, care of @Srikumar (who had come to aid us from his nearby Newbie convoy) to identify the bush where the little animal was resting. Fast forward to the end of the drive, the Municipality had contacted Heisem (who had called them in the first place) and informing us that they could not locate the gazelle, asked us if we could go back and take it out. After leaving the rest of the convoy at the exit point, we went back, with Jolly, Heisem and Brette, hell bent on our rescue mission (upping the drive from Fewbie to Intermediate 😅). Unfortunately, upon reaching the flag-marked bush we could not do anything else but confirm to the Municipality that very sadly the little gazelle had died from its wounds. Nonetheless we did our best, and learned a lesson in how the conservation area is managed, rightly so, by the laws of wild nature.

As for the second surprise of the day, it was certainly one that Islam would have done without. Fact is that most cars are programmed to be driven on flat surfaces, and their computers don't understand their driver's crave for off-roading. It so happened that, coming down from a small slope, just after crossing a low ridge, the big Yukon's electronic brain must have thought it was rolling to one side, and decided to save Islam by exploding its lateral air-bags. A stark, and unfortunate, reminder that all electronics should be switched off (or manually disabled) before going into the desert, so that a rather simple obstacle (Islam didn't seem to have any difficulty at all, navigating the ridge and the descent) doesn't transform itself in a dire problem. Wish Islam will be able to have his car back ASAP.

As for the drive itself, after a technical briefing on riding ridges and crossing dunes, and a couple of practices (one driver at the time), it was clear that the whole convoy was able to manage such skills. We progressed from the western part of Qudra (closest to Bab al Shams) in a northerly direction, through a couple of sabkhas, so that we could then travel southward, and back west, and cross the mostly compact, wind-swept side of the longer open dunes, which in this area also offer abundant possibilities of side sloping, as well as some "bowl" areas.

In the end, we traveled for 4 hours, including the stops for the briefing, the attempted rescue and the air-bags incident, for a total of 50 Km, at an average speed of 12 Kms/h (and moving average speed of 24 Kms/h).

Splendid video @Islam Soliman. Well done! 

Thanks a lot @Ale Vallecchi for another wonderful drive today. 
 

Being at the sweep position was a different experience to me, though not sure if I did justice to it’s responsibility 😀. Thanks to @Brette for managing all refusals and recoveries 👏🏻👏🏻 so well, I had no stress at the back. 
 

@Ale Vallecchi you have showed your kindness so well today by spending so much energy and time on trying to save the Gazelle, despite the fact that what happened to it was a normal survival fights within wildlife. Special thanks to @Heisem for finding an option to report this to Dubai Muncipality. 
 

All of us could practice ridge crossing quite well today and I am sure that all of us could step up our skills on this very important skill today. Excited to hit the dune next week for more such challenges. 
 

I am uploading some pictures and the trip track video similar to what @Islam Soliman did. 

[Yousef Alimadadi]

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi, it was a great day will a lot of joy, fun and opportunity to learn many technical tip and tricks. 
thank you everyone🙏🙏🙏

 

[Heisem]

A very eventful drive yesterday, with a lot of practice of crisscrossing, thanks @Ale Vallecchi for explaining in detail how crisscrossing should be done properly and safely with confidence, riding the ridge and then crossing to the other side. 

Unfortunately we were not able to save the gazelle, this was because we were instructed to leave the gazelle by DM inspector and that it would be collected by wildlife services. However as we found out later they could not find the marker as they did not have a proper 4x4 to enter the desert and we were requested to return to the location we left the gazelle and give it to wildlife services.

This meant that we had to drive quickly and @Ale Vallecchi @Brette @Jolly Abraham really picked up the pace, we were on a mission and I soon found myself crossing some technical dunes at much quicker pace than earlier in the drive. Knowledge and experience gained in Carnity drives helped here. We were too late unfortunately, but we did as much as we could, gave it water, put it in shade and clearly marked on GPS and with a flag its exact location for pick up.

 

I want to thank the group for a very interesting drive. @Mehmet Volga I enjoyed driving behind you, could hear your engine as you floored it on some climbs 😄. It was also reassuring to have @Biju Abdul as our sweep😎

Excited for our next drive. 

 

[Jolly Abraham]

Thanks@Ale Vallecchi,  @Brette for another fantastic drive with you guys.

It was different experience with being second lead in the convoy.

Sorry for that we couldn't save the little Gazelle.

[Ale Vallecchi]

11 hours ago, Biju Abdul said:

Thanks a lot @Ale Vallecchi for another wonderful drive today. 
 

Being at the sweep position was a different experience to me, though not sure if I did justice to it’s responsibility 😀. Thanks to @Brette for managing all refusals and recoveries 👏🏻👏🏻 so well, I had no stress at the back. 
 

@Ale Vallecchi you have showed your kindness so well today by spending so much energy and time on trying to save the Gazelle, despite the fact that what happened to it was a normal survival fights within wildlife. Special thanks to @Heisem for finding an option to report this to Dubai Muncipality. 
 

All of us could practice ridge crossing quite well today and I am sure that all of us could step up our skills on this very important skill today. Excited to hit the dune next week for more such challenges. 
 

I am uploading some pictures and the trip track video similar to what @Islam Soliman did. 

Thanks @Biju Abdul. You have shown great improvement, both in your technical skills, as well as in managing your car's potential. Very well done. See you soon again.

[Mehmet Volga]

@Ale Vallecchi thank you for your excellent leading and very detailed teaching during the drive. It was very fun with high tempo again. @Brette as always, recovered all stucks quickly and saved our fun times. Thanks to @Biju Abdul for good sweeping and all the other drivers for such a smooth drive.  

Pity to hear that wounded baby gazelle could not survive. @Ale Vallecchi @Heisem @Islam Soliman and other drivers did everything possible to save it. But this is the unfortunate rule in wild life. That bird (or other predator) attacked on it was also trying to survive... Anyway, it was another valuable experience. @Ale Vallecchi @Heisem maybe you can post a topic in the forum advising the drivers in such situations about injured wild animals...what to do, who to call...etc

4 hours ago, Heisem said:

I enjoyed driving behind you, could hear your engine as you floored it on some climbs 😄

@Heisem nice to hear you enjoyed. It must not easy to climb on a messy track churned by my flooring  I witnessed that you did it perfect with zero refusal since you were always in my mirror