COVID19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie PLUS Desert Drive - Lisaili to Last Exit - 5 Feb 2021

[RaYan E]

58 minutes ago, Wrangeld said:

Will be sorted

@Wrangeld thank you very much. 😀

[Jon M]

Great drive... thanks team!

[Wrangeld]

Morning All, 

Congratulations to @Lorenzo Candelpergher for a great lead yesterday. One of the reasons that Marshals become marshals is that we enjoy the challenge of leading a drive. For anyone that tried to go out into the desert themselves or with friends you know just how easy it is to get stuck and find that your fun day out becomes a nightmare. Once you learn how to lead you understand how to navigate through the dunes giving excitement and at the same time keeping the convoy moving and safe. 

So, it was with massive pleasure that I was able to hand over the reigns this week to a driver in who's story in Carnity I have been humbled to play a part and watch him put everything he brings to the game from a personality and management side and what he has learned  over the months to leading his first full drive. 

And what a fantastic job he did. From start to finish the drive was controlled, exciting, challenging and perfectly paced. Those of you who were on the drive - you should remember that you were on Lorenzo's first lead: because it is going to the first of many many amazing drives. I have no doubt that there will be a fan club growing soon of drivers wanting to join his posted drives. 

For anyone intersted, we managed to get Yasas out of the desert and his car was revocered to the garage. No doubt, it will be back on the road again for next week. 

See you soon in the sand. 

 

[Niki]

@Lorenzo Candelpergher @Wrangeld thank you both for a superb drive and appreciate how much care you took of us all!  Getting to the exit early was more critical than you can know!  Thank you 🙏🏽 

Glad to see @Yasas Dharmadasa was able to be recovered.

@Lorenzo Candelpergher if that was your first lead I feel privileged  to have been on it... such a calm leader and the route was incredible ... I cannot wait to visit there again as it demanded a lot of concentration and was a serious challenge for me!  I have to say seeing how you take your car through all of these routes adds to the confidence you give us... I think as a lead you have the biggest, longest and heaviest car and show it goes everywhere!!! For me that’s a lesson in itself watching your line and approach!  

look forward to joining another of your drives ... @Wrangeld I joined this drive to be under your lead so look forward to your next drive! 
 

CF and sweep were flawless in what was a difficult route and being at the back of that ride was not easy so kudos Sweep! 

[Lorenzo Candelpergher]

Dear all,

It was indeed a memorable drive for me, actually the 1st one I could finally lead from start to end: 52km in 3.5h, of which a good 2.5h moving time. 

First of all my gratitude goes to @Wrangeld who gave me the opportunity to take the lead and, by doing so, to close the circle, being there with me from my first Absolute Newbie to my first Full Lead. 

We started with a mild pace on fairly easy dunes, maybe a bit too easy for most of the drivers. We then then increased both the pace and the technical level, with more challenging ridge riding and a few criss-crossings.

The convoy responded incredibly well, with very few refusals and just a couple of stucks. @Nizam Deen handled the rope recoveries with great calm, even when pulling out @Yusuf Esaf's  Y62, which he eventually managed to get happily crested, just after saying he wanted the ride to be more challenging.. 😂

We then moved to the area which I have decided to mark in my navigation app as the "Mighty Dunes", where we enjoyed the largest dunes in Lisaili area with spectacular climbs, steep descents, long side slopings and a couple of adventurous passages through tricky canyons. Boy, how fun was that? 

Just when we were lowering a bit our adrenaline levels and preparing for the last session of long range dunes towards Al Qudra, @Yasas Dharmadasa's gearbox got badly stuck in reverse. With little hopes to get the car moving, and considering also the need for a rapid exit for @Niki Patel's family emergency (hope all is well), we opted to let @Athula Dharmadada wait along with his cousin while we headed out to Al Qudra Love Lakes, ie to the closest and fastest way out, where we had to conclude our ride some 20 mins before the scheduled exit at 11am.

Richard and I then went back to help bringing the incapacitated car, which was at least in neutral at that point, down to the sabkha and eventually to the pylon track from where it could be safely loaded on a tow truck. 

A great kudos goes to @Jack Thomas who was a great sweep, with very proactive and comforting updates from the back which made my life much easier. 

Congrats to everyone else not mentioned above: @RaYan E, @luwaimn, @Jon M, @Anvar Sadath Bekal@andy_macdxband @Niki Patel. Every time l looped back and had a chance to watch you driving by, I saw you all were doing great.

Thanks for being the perfect convoy for my first full lead. 

And keep an eye on the next upcoming Carnity drives, as mine will be posted soon as well!! 

Edited February 6, 2021 by Lorenzo Candelpergher

[andy_macdxb]

Took longer to navigate out of Qudra Lakes than we did on the drive. 🤪

Super drive route. Really started getting a good feel for the Pajero and its capabilities on a more demanding drive. Thanks Lorenzo and all. 

Edited February 7, 2021 by andy_macdxb

[Anvar Sadath Bekal]

Thank you  @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Wrangeld for a fantastic drive
looking forward to join in your upcoming drives 🤩