COVID19 Compliant - Afternoon Intermediate Desert Drive - Short & Sharp Lisaili - Dubai - 24 Apr 2021

[Thomas Varghese]

[Thomas Varghese]

[Thomas Varghese]

[Wrangeld]

Post Drive Report

We had it all yesterday. A very short drive before the first (of many) pop outs, a sharp reminder that off road driving can be dangerous and a fun filled night drive all the way into Last Exit. 

While I cannot claim that the drive hit IM level the whole way through - for obvious reasons we needed to tone it down a bit - the varied challenges made for a fun afternoon. Had it not been for the pop outs and the almost roll-over ... well, that's another story. 

Our route took us from Lisali Fort, through some of the less challenging technical dunes in the Lisaili area [yes, sorry I navigated around the edges rather than going headlong into an advanced techincal challenge] and then some of the lovely long range dunes that the area has to offer leading all the way back to Solar Park/Qudra. 

We had an acceptable number of refusals leading through this area, nothing too serious, nothing too concerning - although the three pop outs early in the day was a bit of a surprise, including my own. 

And then, as we were side slipping our way through some lovely dunes, a very calm and collected @Watteau was heard saying 'don't move an inch Jodah. Richard can you come back immediately and help'. 

What followed was an exemplory lesson in extreme recoveries where within a few minutes, a sideways Y62 was back on all 4 wheels a little shaken, but not stirred!

Credit to everyone involved in that recovery: @Watteau for using the winch with perfect prescision, @Tero Vallasrunning up immedaitely with the flat snatch rope we needed, @Francois Germishuys making sure that the offside of the car was totally under control, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Thomas Varghese @varunmehndiratta for digging on the side at the time and exactly where requested, @Islam Soliman for ably assisting in getting all the parts moving at the same time and most of all @jodha singh shekhawat for remaining calm and swallowing the fears he must have felt while sitting in the driving seat while all this happened around.  

After that, and a few moments to recover, all credit to @jodha singh shekhawat for getting back into the swing and driving with us all the way back into Qudra. 

It's always a risk adding time onto a drive. It's one of those things that as leads we do not normally offer, because it feels like you are tempting the off road gods by over staying your welcome - but I take full respmnsibility for offering to extend the drive and add a night driving experience for those that had not yet had it. 

I truly felt that the retribution I deserved for that 'temptation' had been delivered when, within 5 minutes of the start I came down off a slip face to find that the bottom of the dune was hard packed clay and with the speed we had on the dune to clear, the resulting impact left me with 2 pop outs and @Watteau who was following closely behind with one all of his own. 

The time taken in sorting out all three gave @Islam Soliman an opportunity to break his fast, have a snack and say his prayers (so perhaps there was actually some divine intervention involved) before we were on our way again, incident free all the way to Last Exit. As we approached the end of the drive, it was even possible to give the experience of off roading in other countries as we made our way through the trees and bushes. 

All in all, I enjoyed the varied terrain and challenges and the additional learning opportunities faced. It's not often we get the chance to have a really happy outcome from an extreme recovery. Bottom line, I am exceptionally grateful for all that I and others have learned in Carnity so that we could sort out the problems quickly, efficiently and without drama. This could have been much worsefor both the car and it's passengers, but the calm teamwork used to sort the problem was a testiment to everyone on the drive and the training we have been fortunate enough to receive. 

See you soon in the sand. 

[Tero Vallas]

It was long and action packed drive for sure. But I believe that we all learned a lot more again, especially related to special situations & recoveries.

Thank you for the professional & safely managed convoy, @Wrangeld and @Islam Soliman ! Good work !

 

See you soon on sand again !

 

 

[Thomas Varghese]

15 hours ago, Thomas Varghese said:

 

Its not everyday I get to take pictures like this. The car even though touching the ground only on 2 wheels while 2 wheels are in the air was stable through out the recovery process. The driver and passenger was safe. It was breath stopping watching attaching the tow rope to the underside of the car while the car was suspended in this position. Thanks to God all turned out well. Great lesson in recovery. What mattered most was keeping a level head and not panicking. With Richard @Wrangeld directing the recovery I knew it will be uneventful and will succeed. I witnessed the finest minutes of recovery in this incident. What Richard mentioned as the reason is true. The car lost its momentum and the driver tried to fight gravity. Even though at a precarious angle the Y62 didn't roll over but stood tall with his head high. 

What started off as an uneventful IM drive with 3 pop out within half an hour of start of the drive turned out very eventful towards the middle and end. This reminds us of our instructions given to us right from our Absolute Newbie days. 

NEVER FIGHT GRAVITY.

IF YOU LOST YOUR MOMENTUM COME DOWN IMMEDIATELY.

DON"T GET DISTRACTED WHATEVER HAPPENS INSIDE THE CAR. 

[Lawrence_Chehimi]

I'm glad that no body got hurt and the car came out with no damage. You guys already answered the questions running in my head.

Since I still haven't joined any intermediate drive, I would like to ask, is it much different than the fewbie plus drives? Is the side sloping done in intermediate (especially this one) much different than the ones we used to do in other drives?

After seeing this, I got a bit hesitant joining intermediate drives😂.

[Wrangeld]

@Thomas Varghese I am sure Nissan will be very happy with a copy of your picture for their 'go anywhere' marketing campaign. 

[Wrangeld]

3 minutes ago, Lawrence_Chehimi said:

I'm glad that no body got hurt and the car came out with no damage. You guys already answered the questions running in my head.

Since I still haven't joined any intermediate drive, I would like to ask, is it much different than the fewbie plus drives? Is the side sloping done in intermediate (especially this one) much different than the ones we used to do in other drives?

After seeing this, I got a bit hesitant joining intermediate drives😂.

Hi Lawrence, 

Here's one immediate difference - we side sloped here on the slip face, not the wind side of the dune. I would guess that all the side sloping you did to date was on the hard side of the dune. 

Other differences:

• Speed. IM you simply need to keep up. No one is waiting round to make sure you are keeping up.
• Warnings: The drive lead is not going to be telling you where every bump or sharp dune is on an IM drive. If you have any bumper angst at all, it's not a great place to be. 
• Criss-crossing: You'll be expected to be able to do this from both sides of a dune

Being hesitant to sign up for an IM - in my view that's a pretty smart tactic. Build up the skills by doing more and more FB+, where there will always be elements of IM. 

The best drivers around are those that patiently (and sometimes impatiently) waited to get their promotion. Thrown straight into an IM after the 'required' number of Fewbie drives means you can do the drive. There is a lot I can do, but not all of it is fun. 

[Thomas Varghese]

1 hour ago, Wrangeld said:

@Thomas Varghese I am sure Nissan will be very happy with a copy of your picture for their 'go anywhere' marketing campaign. 

Especially with only 2 wheels on the ground and the car remains in equilibrium with driver and passenger inside. Never seen a sight like this in my life. Its either 4 wheels on the ground or 4 wheels pointing sideways or the sky. I have only seen in movies cars being driven on 2 wheels.