COVID19 compliant - Morning Intermediate Desert drive - Faqa Loop - Dubai - 26 Mar 2021

[Junaid120120]

Hi angela,, due to work i wnt be able to make it for this drive.

 

 

[Francois Germishuys]

See you all tomorrow I guess ....

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Good evening fellow adventurers, apologies for the delay but I was driving in the desert (quelle suprise) 

Faqa....LOVE IT! Let's get on this tomorrow. We will have slopes, ridges, bowls, trees, you name it, Faqa has it. Now the plan is to loop around and come back the other side of Faqa which is free of tracks and has almost virgin dunes. However, we'll see how it goes and what the Sand Gods throw our way. 

What I need from you is , patience, we have some new IMs with us.  Good humour, what's the point if it's not fun? Felxibility, we aim to finish at 10, where we finish is another matter. And most importantly your wits, don't leave that at home as this area has lots of hidden depths that can land us in bother. 

We shall be using Radio Channel 3 (three)

My proposed convoy is as follows:


 

Driver	Car	Level	Position
Angela @Foxtrot Oscar	Black X	Expert	Lead
@Gregory Perkin	Red Wrangler	IM	2nd Lead
@varunmehndiratta	Blue Wrangler	IM	3rd
@siddharth maheshwari	White Wrangler	IM	4th
@Rizwan Waheed	LWB Pajero	IM	5th
@Mohamed Seidam	White X	IM	CF
@Rizwanm2	White X	IM	7th
@Shaaz Sha	Red X	IM	8th
@Ashok chaturvedi	Yellow FJ	IM	9th
@Abu Muhammad	White Sequnda	IM	10th
@Francois Germishuys	Red F150	IM	Sweep

See you all tomorrow  

[Shaaz Sha]

Hi @Foxtrot Oscar,won't be able attend the drive tomorrow .. unforseen family commitment. I am sorry to be late to inform. Have fun giys

[M.Seidam]

18 minutes ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

Good evening fellow adventurers, apologies for the delay but I was driving in the desert (quelle suprise) 

Faqa....LOVE IT! Let's get on this tomorrow. We will have slopes, ridges, bowls, trees, you name it, Faqa has it. Now the plan is to loop around and come back the other side of Faqa which is free of tracks and has almost virgin dunes. However, we'll see how it goes and what the Sand Gods throw our way. 

What I need from you is , patience, we have some new IMs with us.  Good humour, what's the point if it's not fun? Felxibility, we aim to finish at 10, where we finish is another matter. And most importantly your wits, don't leave that at home as this area has lots of hidden depths that can land us in bother. 

We shall be using Radio Channel 3 (three)

My proposed convoy is as follows:


 

Driver	Car	Level	Position
Angela @Foxtrot Oscar	Black X	Expert	Lead
@Gregory Perkin	Red Wrangler	IM	2nd Lead
@varunmehndiratta	Blue Wrangler	IM	3rd
@siddharth maheshwari	White Wrangler	IM	4th
@Rizwan Waheed	LWB Pajero	IM	5th
@Mohamed Seidam	White X	IM	CF
@Rizwanm2	White X	IM	7th
@Shaaz Sha	Red X	IM	8th
@Ashok chaturvedi	Yellow FJ	IM	9th
@Abu Muhammad	White Sequnda	IM	10th
@Francois Germishuys	Red F150	IM	Sweep

See you all tomorrow  

Yallaaaaaaaaaa 😄 I bet we get the fun before it gets us .... we have all the Colors tomorrow ✌🏼

Edited March 25, 2021 by Mohamed Seidam

[Gregory Perkin]

Hi Angela @Foxtrot Oscar

This is truly bizarre. I didn't sign up for any drives at all this weekend because I've always known I have to work. 14 hour day to Sofia and back 😴

Never seen this happen before. I'd love to be there, but unfortunately can't.

Have fun all. Will look forward to the report.

[Foxtrot Oscar]

26 minutes ago, Gregory Perkin said:

Hi Angela @Foxtrot Oscar

This is truly bizarre. I didn't sign up for any drives at all this weekend because I've always known I have to work. 14 hour day to Sofia and back 😴

Never seen this happen before. I'd love to be there, but unfortunately can't.

Have fun all. Will look forward to the report.

Awe man, would have loved yo have had you. See you soon  

[M.Seidam]

Hi Angela can u  wait 4 me guys? Please I am driving I need 15 min on google 🙏🙏

[Varun Mehndiratta]

Sorry @Foxtrot Oscar overslept and missed the drive.  Was so looking forward for it.   😑

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Drive Report

I told you it would be tricky. Faqa’s alluring beauty , so enticing, so thrilling and so fraught with hidden dangers.

I started off slowly, allowing everyone to wake from their morning slumber as I’m sure we were all still in shock from our alarms going off at an ungodly hour. I know I was.  The slopes were steep but we managed to get along the side of them with no issues, we did some crossovers and made our way further into the sand. @Abu Muhammad had a nice moment to rest on the crest when @Mohamed Seidam and @Francois Germishuys got the shovels, out, and then finally a tug as the conditions weren’t perfect enough for the car’s gizmos to kick in. There were a few more refusals as everyone became acclimatized to the challenge Faqa presents. I heard someone sarcastically comment re making the drive more difficult,I think we all laughed at that. Faqa is all the proof you need that IM drives are not all about the big bowl thrills.

We continued our journey riding on small ridges as they beckoned us towards them and traversing the dunes as we do. @Rizwan Waheed had some issues on one dune, couldn’t get on top of it to cross over, so we gave him a tug and he deflated a bit more and then we continues to Faqa’s much less ventured other side.

Having reached the pristine virgin dunes that run along the Al Ain border there was nothing for us to do but flatten those wonderful ridges with our bash plates. They’re high, there’s a steep slip face on the other side, you require nerves of steel, and complete control of your vehicle to stay on top of them but stay on top we did. One after another after another after another. We sliced tracks through the area at a good pace and only had a few more refusals and one stuck.

Well done all, we made it out on time, although I am always tempted to keep driving haha.  @Rizwan Waheed, just need to push that Pajero a little more and get better control on side slopes. @Rizwanm2, I think you only had a couple of refusals, well done. @Abu Muhammad, you only had a couple of issues too, nice driving! @Francois Germishuys  you didn’t have any, sorry about the choking seatbelt haha , a different kind of challenge for you today.

Many thanks to @siddharth maheshwari for executing a perfect second lead, following my instructions and having a good drive and also for pulling me out when I was headed into a pocket. You did well on that recovery. Ask to be more involved with them on your next drives to ensure you keep learning and practicing.

Also to @Mohamed Seidam for his role as CF and helping with refusals and stucks. Thank you for indulging the teacher in me and ensuring everyone was involved in their own recoveries which allows learning to take place. I can guarantee you that on my drives I’ll never get into your car to drive you out of trouble , instead I will pass on the knowledge and skills so that you can do it for yourself.

We covered 68km in 4hrs 3mins with a moving time of 3hrs10mins. Well done you!!!

Until our next adventure 😊

Edited March 26, 2021 by Foxtrot Oscar