COVID19 Compliant - Saturday Afternoon - Fewbie Plus Desert drive - Area 53 - 13 Feb 2021

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Hey, @Ashok chaturvedi @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan @RaYan E @Hisham Masaad @Islam Soliman @topgear @Yasas Dharmadasa @Athula Dharmadada @Melenany @Jon M

Make sure you park up at a distance from one another, don't gather and for the love of all that is good, wear a mask. 

Thanks  

[Foxtrot Oscar]

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.

I don’t think a convoy has ever departed so close to the meet time, it was 2:05pm and we were ready to roll and roll we did straight into the dunes  which resembled a skate park! They’re low and curved, with ample opportunity to get a feel for the sand. During the gentle phase we had a couple of refusals, the dunes are scarred with tracks and the sand can be soft. However, this is Badayer, and we were lucky to not have too many 4x4s alongside us.

We swept, sloped and turned, building ourselves up for the more challenging dunes that lay ahead. As we attempted the first challenge, we had a couple more refusals and @Athula Dharmadada's battery disconnected. That didn’t take long to fix and we continued on our way, but not before I had to remind the convoy of off-road etiquette in my best ‘Teacher’s Voice’ 😉 safety is paramount guys thus why we have strict convoy discipline we adhere to.

As we headed to even more challenging dunes, we had to reroute a couple of times as some of the convoy struggled with the soft sands and steep climbs. I did say we would either rattle the throttle or we would head step by step. It became apparent that step by step would be the way to the top of Area 53. With one more refusal and with tyre pressure checked we headed off in a different direction. We finally started to build some momentum as we neared the top of the dunes. There was some really nice small bowls to sweep around and it was all going so well. I was even contemplating carrying on with my planned route, at the risk of some night driving, when it was my car’s turn to ‘clunk’. It was all the sign I needed to say we should exit. Reluctantly, I limped along to the nearest exit. We actually covered around 35km in 3 and a half hours, more than I had initially thought.  

@Mohamed Abo ElKomsan you learned a lot today, not least the art of self recovery. It’s Sod’s Law that just as you started motoring we had to exit. @RaYan E you had a good drive, that was a great pocket you found  (always follow the track my friend), and you managed to get yourself out of that sticky patch earlier in the drive when you had to slow down for the refusal ahead of you. @topgear you handled everything well and followed instructions to self recover when you too got stuck because of a refusal in front of you. Nice driving. @Hisham Masaad I don’t think you had any issues the entire drive, well done! Likewise @Jon M . Great drive guys, you all showed great patience too. I know it can be frustrating when you are farther back, but this is the joy of desert driving. @Athula Dharmadada and @Yasas Dharmadasa you weren’t without your moments today, some nice self-recovery skills from you.

A massive thanks to @Ashok chaturvedi who did a great job as 2^nd lead, also @Islam Soliman who  was always on hand to help with the multiple refusals at the front of the convoy and likewise @Melenany who kept the back of the convoy moving and once again did fantastic job as sweep.

It was one of those drives, but we got there. Until our next adventure! 😊

[Hisham Masaad]

Many thanks @Foxtrot Oscar for the drive. I liked the area and I think we should visit again, to make it to the top. Thank you @Islam Soliman @Melenany And @Ashok chaturvedi for the support

[Ashok chaturvedi]

11 hours ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.

I don’t think a convoy has ever departed so close to the meet time, it was 2:05pm and we were ready to roll and roll we did straight into the dunes  which resembled a skate park! They’re low and curved, with ample opportunity to get a feel for the sand. During the gentle phase we had a couple of refusals, the dunes are scarred with tracks and the sand can be soft. However, this is Badayer, and we were lucky to not have too many 4x4s alongside us.

We swept, sloped and turned, building ourselves up for the more challenging dunes that lay ahead. As we attempted the first challenge, we had a couple more refusals and @Athula Dharmadada's battery disconnected. That didn’t take long to fix and we continued on our way, but not before I had to remind the convoy of off-road etiquette in my best ‘Teacher’s Voice’ 😉 safety is paramount guys thus why we have strict convoy discipline we adhere to.

As we headed to even more challenging dunes, we had to reroute a couple of times as some of the convoy struggled with the soft sands and steep climbs. I did say we would either rattle the throttle or we would head step by step. It became apparent that step by step would be the way to the top of Area 53. With one more refusal and with tyre pressure checked we headed off in a different direction. We finally started to build some momentum as we neared the top of the dunes. There was some really nice small bowls to sweep around and it was all going so well. I was even contemplating carrying on with my planned route, at the risk of some night driving, when it was my car’s turn to ‘clunk’. It was all the sign I needed to say we should exit. Reluctantly, I limped along to the nearest exit. We actually covered around 35km in 3 and a half hours, more than I had initially thought.  

@Mohamed Abo ElKomsan you learned a lot today, not least the art of self recovery. It’s Sod’s Law that just as you started motoring we had to exit. @RaYan E you had a good drive, that was a great pocket you found  (always follow the track my friend), and you managed to get yourself out of that sticky patch earlier in the drive when you had to slow down for the refusal ahead of you. @topgear you handled everything well and followed instructions to self recover when you too got stuck because of a refusal in front of you. Nice driving. @Hisham Masaad I don’t think you had any issues the entire drive, well done! Likewise @Jon M . Great drive guys, you all showed great patience too. I know it can be frustrating when you are farther back, but this is the joy of desert driving. @Athula Dharmadada and @Yasas Dharmadasa you weren’t without your moments today, some nice self-recovery skills from you.

A massive thanks to @Ashok chaturvedi who did a great job as 2^nd lead, also @Islam Soliman who  was always on hand to help with the multiple refusals at the front of the convoy and likewise @Melenany who kept the back of the convoy moving and once again did fantastic job as sweep.

It was one of those drives, but we got there. Until our next adventure! 😊

Thanks @Foxtrot Oscar and all my fellow drivers a very scenic drive with least number of stuck by anyone. The sand was a bit churned up in the last hour by loads of weekend drivers. The covid worry was tossed away by a bunch of tourist at the hill top almost 50 of them crowed at the top to watch the sunset. I may sound a bit lazy here but in the end there was line of shops inflating tyres for aed 10 and I obliged one of them 😁. 

[topgear]

This was my absolute Fewbie + drive and was excited to explore this area for the first time. I paid particular attention to my tyre pressure and crossed check with another gauge to ensure consistency. Quite happy with the result as some sections were quite soft and the sand is pretty churned up due to tour groups, dune buggies, offroad drivers etc. I also benefited from driving behind the CF as I could see the lines and gauge the power

 

It was a truly fewbie+ as the drive to the top was indeed challenging with a number of refusals, stucks and other issues. Great patience and leadership shown by @Foxtrot Oscarand CF @Islam Soliman

Thanks to the rest of the convoy members as well!

 

[Melenany]

Many Thanks @Foxtrot Oscar was amazing drive and great learnings 

[Melenany]

[Foxtrot Oscar]

4 hours ago, Ashok chaturvedi said:

Thanks @Foxtrot Oscar and all my fellow drivers a very scenic drive with least number of stuck by anyone. The sand was a bit churned up in the last hour by loads of weekend drivers. The covid worry was tossed away by a bunch of tourist at the hill top almost 50 of them crowed at the top to watch the sunset. I may sound a bit lazy here but in the end there was line of shops inflating tyres for aed 10 and I obliged one of them 😁. 

I loved those guys for inflating my tyres haha 

[Ashok chaturvedi]

1 hour ago, Melenany said:

wow can finally see my car... Yellow FJ

[Foxtrot Oscar]

@Ashok chaturvedi