COVID19 Compliant - Evening/Night Fewbie Desert Drive - Margham - Dubai - 25 Mar 2021

[Chaitanya D]

8 hours ago, AlexPol said:

@Chaitanya D, good evening. Unfortunately need to be at work tomorrow. Evening calls with the U.S. has been added to my calendar. Really want to drive, but looks like not this Thursday. Will join you next time. I will remove my RSVP. Thanks indeed for understanding. Really appreciate what you guys doing - organizing and leading us using your time. Have fun. See you on next drives . Alex.

Noted with thanks. Take care 

[Thomas Varghese]

Good morning @Chaitanya D,

I'm sorry I have to leave the drive as just now my bank has sent me message that the ATM card is arriving to my office between 2pm & 6pm today and I have to receive it in person. Really sorry. Will join you in another drive. 

[Chaitanya D]

Convoy listing for today

@N@ved

@Ranjan Das

@Mikhail Lukichev

@Anvar Sadath Bekal

@Ashok chaturvedi

@Shaaz Sha

@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ

@GauravSoni

@Foxtrot Oscar
 
1. Chaitanya black xterra 
2. Naved 2nd lead Silver TJ wrangler 
3. Ranjan Das white wrangler 
4. Michael Lukhichev silver prado
5. Anvar Sadath Bekal  silver Pajero
6. Ashok Chaturvedi yellow FJ
7. Shaaz sha Red Xterra 
8. Muhammad kashif Razzaq yellow wrangler 
9. Gaurav Soni Sweep brown Pajero

10. Angela Black xterra  sweep

 

We will use Chanel 5 for radio coms

Please arrive on time and note the updated meeting point as in the thread.

 

14 hours ago, Thomas Varghese said:

Good morning @Chaitanya D,

I'm sorry I have to leave the drive as just now my bank has sent me message that the ATM card is arriving to my office between 2pm & 6pm today and I have to receive it in person. Really sorry. Will join you in another drive. 

Please remove your RSVP 

[GauravSoni]

@Chaitanya D can we move to any channel other than 5 please. 
I have strange issue with ch5 and my car electronics... is always buzzing! 
 

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Thank you for the wonderful drive this evening/night @Chaitanya D. I'm really looking forward more night drives with you 

Nice to see some new faces, some familiar faces and some who have returned after a sabbatical. 🙂

[Chaitanya D]

19 minutes ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

Thank you for the wonderful drive this evening/night @Chaitanya D. I'm really looking forward more night drives with you 

Nice to see some new faces, some familiar faces and some who have returned after a sabbatical. 🙂

Yes , different faces to catch up with.

Great to have you on the drive, always super supportive.  Thanks for sweeping the whole bunch today.

[Chaitanya D]

Trip report

Writing this after being energized by a fab start to the weekend as planned with some thrill of a night drive. We drove from Love lakes to Murqab practicing technical dunes, some nice steep sideys, ridge rides and criss crossings. 

It was a nice mix of experienced IM drivers at the back and some extremely eager fewbie at the front who learnt and improvised as we drove along.

@N@ved was excellent as 2nd lead. Very responsive and did some minor rerouting to perfection.  Thank you so much.

@Ranjan Das did well and got better as we drove more towards Murqab. Some fishtailing and momentum issues,  but I suppose you will only get better as you did towards the end. 

@Mikhail Lukichev was driving very well in 4th position. Quickly learning the minor adjustments needed , it was great to see that you felt the tire deflated while driving which was fantastic as you could avoid a pop out (which would most likely happen on a deflated tire) with your presence of mind.

@Anvar Sadath Bekal was a bit late addition to the drive, but I suppose enjoyed the drive as much as we all did. Well done

@Ashok chaturvedi had no issues managing his new desert toy. Great to see your enthusiasm and how you have been driving well off late.

@Shaaz Sha hardly heard on the radio. I wonder now you have got hold of managing the X after shifting from an amazing wrangler.

@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ with his son  as copassenger managed very wel. Great to have this duo , something similar to mine except that my son sits in the back seat.🤣

@GauravSoni did well in the back. Hope your car issues have been sorted well and you did not have any problems on today's drive. Well done 

@Foxtrot Oscar was the sweeping Angel today, reassurance for everyone that no one will be left behind. Thank you for your support Angela.

Some pictures uploaded on the gallery. Please share your feedback and suggestions. You all did great today and it was indeed a good start to a weekend.

See you all soon, Good night !

[Shaaz Sha]

Hello guys, as our lead @Chaitanya D quated it was a good start to a weekend for me. Had to leave minutes before our finishing time coz  my son slept in the car it was difficult for me manage him while driving. Thank you @Chaitanya Dfor a wonderful night off-road class..👏👏👏 and @N@ved for the second lead and @Foxtrot Oscarfor the sweep.the whole convey was wonderful and see you soon in the sands.

[N@ved]

Indeed a fantastic evening and great start to the weekend. @Chaitanya D Doc my second drive with you and enjoyed every bit of it, night driving was a good learning (my first drive after sunset) as you mentioned it’s at a different pace but needs more than 100% attention as it’s easy to lose track and end up in an unwanted situation.
@Foxtrot Oscar Angela thanks for all the support and hope to drive one under your leadership soon.

thanks to everyone in the convoy for a smooth drive (if I remember correctly we only had to get shovels out twice, no ropes at all), we should all be proud of our achievement and thanks again to Marshal and Sweep for leading and mentoring us today.

[Chaitanya D]

7 hours ago, N@ved said:

if I remember correctly we only had to get shovels out twice, no ropes at all), we should all be proud of our achievement

Yes we had two stuck - perfect center crests , managed with shoveling.

These are the situations which make you a better driver as you learn everytime with a stuck. More stucks = more learning.  We did challenge ourselves enough today with varied terrains but all drove really well for a fewbie drive with minimal refusals and stuck.