COVID19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Khatam to Faya - Sharjah - 23 Apr 2021

[Frederic]

Drive Report Convoy 1

It was one of those mornings, while deflating in the shadow of the mighty Fossil Rock, that I was realizing how beautiful this terrain is and that I keep coming back with a smile in this area. It had been a while and thanks to Brette’s popularity he was able to organize a second convoy and it was a pleasure for me to lead.

We started off with approaching some of the play areas that lie West from the pylon track. This meant we had to go against the slipfaces to reach the area but it was also a little test for me to see how to convoy reacted and how we could scale the drive today.

To my surprise all acquitted themselves brilliantly and this meant we scaled it up a notch at some times. Apart from a few refusals which were easily dealt with all went super smooth. 

As we reached the base of Fossil Rock, @TT_Dubai his Wrangler was showing the check engine light and was suffering from a smelly clutch. Unfortunately that meant exiting Tim on the pylon track and saying goodbye. I hope your car gets fixed soon buddy.

From the pylon tracks we headed back in and took a nice photo of the convoy at Camel Rock. It was there that we saw Brette’s convoy approaching as well and after waving them goodbye we set off again onwards to new adventures.

We made our way to Faya and were able to play in the bowls on the backside of Faya which demand constant momentum and lies close to Fewbie level. Again the whole team did amazing ! 
 

Once we reached Faya we took the side route and climbed the mountain. @Senthil Kumar his Wrangler started to overheat so we had to take a break and let it cool down before continuing. We spent the last 25 mins in the smaller bowls next to Faya and made our way to the inflation point.

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalil you were a great second lead today ! @Fabiano Morais you drove great as well today and I’m glad you found the tiptronic as your best help when climbing Faya. @ARAGON your yellow Jeep was easy to spot and took on the terrain and challenges effortlessly. Great work!

@Senthil Kumar you also did great today. As Richard mentioned, Jeeps have a tendency of overheating a bit and the additional transmission cooler fan will probably be recommended. 
 

The American muscle boys @Russ and @Darren Brooke showed us what massive torque combined with excellent driving skills can do. Great to have you guys !

With @Wrangeldin the sweep I knew i could rely on his experience to keep the convoy moving, and sort out the very few minor issues we faced today. Thank you my friend !

See you guys soon back in the sand ! It was a pleasure being part of your company !

[Sunil Mathew]

Thank you @Frederic and @Wrangeld for the wonderful drive today morning. Was my 3rd drive with carnity including the ABN drive..

Had a taste of the Al Faya climb (thru the cheat route,  as Fred called it 😜), and managed it in 2 attempts...floored the gas pedal for it and the tacho needle hit uncharted territory 😁😁 today!!

On the descent from top of Faya, i got a fishtail experience too, as i was just idling down without giving gas..was a bit scary due to all the readings and videos i saw on fishtailing, but managed to bring the nose back straight with a bit of gas and counter steer.

The fossil rock climb was also a learning experience for me about keeping the momentum, got a refusal there when i saw @TT_Dubai (hope you get the issue sorted and join us back soon) sliding off the track and i hesitated for a moment..had to come to the base and try again.

 

All in all..a great and short drive, looking forward and coming back for more!!

[Chris Wing]

Convoy 2: Thanks to @Brette @Desert Dweller @Luca Palanca Falsini, it was a very enjoyable drive with some awesome dunes! Can't be shy on the gas pedal there for sure 

Great to meet a lot of new people as well and happy to have bumped into some familiar faces from convoy 1 @Russ @ARAGON

Special shout out to @Rjducos for making it to the top of that massive incline! @Desert Dweller as well but that probably was easy peasy for her

[Russ]

Thanks @Fredericand @Wrangeldfor a great drive this morning, you allowed us to get on with it but were there with advice if required. It was my first time driving in that area and definitely not my last! I did enjoy the Faya climb....next time from the front side 😁 cheers to the rest of the guys in the convoy too 👍🏼

[TT_Dubai]

Hi Convoy 1! Thanks @Fredericand great report. So sorry again to the rest of the convoy for the detour as it is becoming very apparent that having a manual Wrangler comes with it's own set of unique issues. On climbing Fossil Rock I made the error of shifting into 2nd at around 5k rpm whereupon it started to lose momentum fast. Then came the refusal and I tried to get out of it but the clutch was protesting... Anyway, second attempt (and a good runway) gave me good momentum in first gear halfway up Fossil Rock when the car stuttered (almost as if the TC intervened) and the check engine light illuminated. I felt as if I had 50% of power as the car went into limp mode. That's when @Wrangeld thought it best to exit as it would not be possible to carry the bowls and other climbs in a reduced capacity. It was definitely the right call and I would not be able to commit to each challenge.

Back on E102 the car was fine and happily cruising at 100kph but I still dont have full torque. Am keeping it under observation over the weekend and will get the ECU reset next week if the check engine light is still illuminated.

Always had a love affair with a manual Wrangler but our relationship is in urgent need of marriage counselling.... 😊

[Chinthaka Ruwan]

Convoy-2 this is my second drive to Faya any enjoyed every second of the drive, Learnt many things specially got a chance to see how to fix a tire pop-out. @Brette@Chris Wingthank you for leading us to Faya and @Desert Dweller @Luca Palanca Falsinifor the excellent support from CF and Back. Looking forward to drive with you soon.  

Edited April 23, 2021 by Chinthaka Ruwan

[Brette]

Trip Report Convoy 2.

On my way to the meeting point I kept thinking if attempting this area with 4 drivers who would be doing their first newbie drive was in fact a good idea or if I was trying to be over ambitious. I had also worked out an alternate route incase it turned out to be too much for the newbies but wanted to give it a shot and I also knew I had an excellent support team in @Desert Dweller and @Luca Palanca Falsini. On reaching the meeting point @Luca Palanca Falsini was already there deflated and ready to go while the rest of the convoy arrived. Everyone was done deflating and ready to head out by around 6:15 so after a quick briefing and getting the convoy into position we headed off towards Fossil Rock.

The entire convoy drove pretty well and we were closing in on Fossil Rock in less than an hour. With summer around the corner and knowing fully well that the sand is going to keep getting soft and sticky of the next few months, I decided to give everyone a taste of what it would feel like to get into these sticky patches so rerouted and went towards the really soft patch just before fossil rock. Here is where we had our first few refusals and 1 stuck that was handled and sorted out very well by Luca and Jamy.

Moving on we did not attempt to climb Fossil Rock but headed straight towards Camel Rock where we bumped into Freddy and Richard with Convoy 1 and then headed towards Faya. I think everyone enjoyed this area as we kept a good pace and covered almost half the distance without any refusals or stucks. Seeing we had a lot of time still on our hands, I deviated west into a bit of the technical area. Here we again had a few refusals, a stuck and @Nafly Azhar had a pop out too that was fixed in under 15 minutes and then we made our way again towards Faya.

The final stretch to Faya is all about keeping the momentum around the bowls. I went all the way to the top, @Luca Palanca Falsini positioned himself halfway through while @Desert Dweller stayed down with the convoy while everyone made their attempt. A few refusals later we were at the top taking in the beautiful view before heading down. Once down those who had a few drives under their belt got to make an attempt at making small climbs while the rest watched. After everyone had their fill we headed out to the inflation point.

@Chris Wing thanks for being an excellent second lead and congrats on your promotion to fewbie. @Nafly Azhar , @Christopher Assal  @Lucas Neo and @Wadepat2 you all did very well considering this was your first newbie drive. Don't worry about the refusals and stucks, it is all part of the learning process and in time you will get better at it. @Pmaraziti , @Chinthaka Ruwan and @Rjducos well done, you guys had absolutely no problems at the back. 

@Desert Dweller and @Luca Palanca Falsini Thank you both for being an excellent support team and look forward to supporting you'll on drives soon. 

Take care guys and see you'll in the sand..

 

 

[Darren Brooke]

@Frederic @WrangeldThanks for a great drive, really enjoyed getting the opportunity to floor the American Muscle. 💪💪

Cant wait till the next drive to Fossil Rock and Faya

[Alain Canivet-Abikhalil]

 

Really enjoyed being second lead of @Frederic ! It was a very interesting ride, quick and smooth.

Sorry to see @TT_Dubai leave... stay honest to your marriage with the Wrangler ^^

@Wrangeld always a pleasure to ride with you

Thank you everyone for the spirit !

 

[Lakshmi Narasimhan]

Seems both convoys enjoyed a lot and had fun!!!