COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - EXPLORATION: Sand to Mountain - RAK - 24 Oct 2020

[Ale Vallecchi]

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely.

 

MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions

 

MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST

 

Two Way Radio Guidelines

• Every Off-roader 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...
• 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.

 

Drive Details

Level:  Fewbie and above

When:  24 October 2020, Saturday

Meeting time: 6:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions)

Action Plan: IMPORTANT NOTICE - This is an exploration drive, in a little travelled area for off-roaders, in rather technical terrain. The pace may be slow, and the skills required will include finesse and control, due to the need to pick the right path through an environment with abundant vegetation (shrubs first, then trees), with sporadic animal farms, sets of soft sand dunes with little room to maneuver, and open sabkhas. This drive will test the complete set of off-roading skills, providing a good opportunity to make you a more complete desert driver.

Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/UsVoyEaC9YdZdJbG8

IMPORTANT: There was a diversion after turning from E311 toward E611. Follow the signs to the Ritz Carlton Desert Resort.

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), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 10:30 AM

THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL END THE DRIVE AT A POINT WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. 

 

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE:

• Limited to 10 Fewbies and above drivers. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM.
  • 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.
• Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month.
   

PLEASE RSVP ON THE BELOW CALENDAR 

 

[Abu Muhammad]

Please @Ale Vallecchi add me to the waiting list. Thanks 

[Ilya]

Please add me to the waiting list as well

[Ale Vallecchi]

3 hours ago, Abu Muhammad said:

Please @Ale Vallecchi add me to the waiting list. Thanks 

Dear @Abu Muhammad, thanks for asking. You will be #1 on the WL.

3 hours ago, Ilya Golubinsky said:

Please add me to the waiting list as well

Hello @Ilya Golubinsky. You are #2 on the WL. Thanks for asking.

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear Desertnauts,

A few words about this exploration drive planned for next Saturday.

Few words is all that I can use, since we have only visited this area once. The idea to develop a "Sea to Mountain" route came to me after driving the first portion of this itinerary (before joining Carnity). That drive seemed nice at the time, and indeed it still is extremely interesting, even though the vegetation in the area has exploded since more than 1 year ago, changing the look and feel of the area. That first route was then tested a few weeks ago, and driven by an Intermediate convoy less than a month ago. We managed to go from the seaside (next to Barracuda Resort) to almost E611 (even though the access has been sealed off since 2019, and we had to exit back on E311). 

Hence, the second leg of the "Sea to Mountain" route, renamed "Sand to Mountain", starts at the end of E611, heading in an easterly direction, toward the foothills of the Ajar Mountains. The area we wish to explore, roughly from the entrance of the new Ritz-Carlton Resort to the industrial outskirts of Al Ghail town, is relatively large, and is criss-crossed by several tracks, leading in and out of it, connecting several farms with the major tarmac roads surrounding the area.

After last week's first Intermediate drive, we have chosen to open the drive to Fewbie drivers as well. This is to give all of you the opportunity to experience the double-edged sword of an "absolute first" drive, where the excitement of the exploration may be balanced by the challenge of driving in an unusual surrounding, completely different than our usual, purely sand based, stomping grounds.

Free ranging camels, wild donkeys, longitudinal (Seif) dunes that suck your car down into their molasses-like sand, and, most amazingly, wide open plain areas with the look and feel of a savannah. This are some of the amazing situations and sights we will find and see during this exploration drive. All off-roading skills will be tested (finesse and control in particular), and at the end of the drive each should have gained a little more experience and knowledge about themselves, their relationship with their car, and the nature in which we'll be driving.

@Syed Raza Hussain, @Tero Vallas, @asifk, @Rizwanm2, @Senthil Kumar, @Dagdag Sofiane, @Rizwan Waheed, @Biju Abdul, @Islam Soliman, @Tamas Hoffmann and @Chaitanya D, you will receive more info on Friday. In the meantime, have a great week.

[Dagdag Sofiane]

After this wonderful ode to the nature I definitely want to be a part of it !!!

See you on Friday

  

[Mukundan Nair]

Hi Ale

Can you please put me on the waiting list.

 

[Ale Vallecchi]

On 10/20/2020 at 10:57 PM, Mukundan Nair said:

Hi Ale

Can you please put me on the waiting list.

 

Hi @Mukundan Nair. You would be #3 on the WL. Thanks a lot.

[Tamas Hoffmann]

Hi Ale 

Please remove me from the drive as I got called for work again 

Some higher power doesn't allow me to join your drives 

Good luck for the lucky standby 😊

[Ale Vallecchi]

25 minutes ago, Tamas Hoffmann said:

Hi Ale 

Please remove me from the drive as I got called for work again 

Some higher power doesn't allow me to join your drives 

Good luck for the lucky standby 😊

Thanks for trying @Tamas Hoffmann. Hope to see you another time.