COVID19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Khatam to Faya - Sharjah - 7 May 2021

[Brette]

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely.

 

MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions

 

MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST

 

Two Way Radio Guidelines

• Every Offroader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic.
• We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. 
• Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving.
• Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops...
• No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it.

 

MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING

 

Drive Details

Level:  Newbie and above

When: 7th May 2021, Friday.

Meeting time: 5:30 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point: (https://maps.app.goo.gl/e2RMayTqDefGri7B9 (Khatam)

Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance.

What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 09:30 AM

 

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE:

• Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM.
  • If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. 
• Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
• Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
• Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others.
• Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month.

 

PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR 

 

[Brette]

 

Drive RSVP is now closed. 

Please go through the tutorial videos and make sure your cars front and rear tow hooks are in order.  Hope all of you also have the required gear for the newbie level drives (Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor).

See you all tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM and we will be using Radio channel 2, 446 031 25.

 

1	Brette	JGC	Lead
2	@Alain Canivet-Abikhalil	Wrangler	2nd Lead
3	@samamara	Pajero
4	@Naim Aoun	Wrangler
5	@Fiel Francis Telan	Tahoe
6	@Tbone	Xterra	CF
7	@bunty_and_pops	Wrangler
8	@Marky B	Wrangler
9	@Fabien Monleau	LC
10	@Pierre de Maigret	FJ
11	@Mukundan Nair	Xterra	Sweep

[Fiel Francis Telan]

Noted Brette.. thanks 

[samamara]

@Brette Thanks - see you all tomorrow!

[bunty_and_pops]

Noted - looking fwd - been a while!

[Pierre de Maigret]

Thank you very much Brette, Tbone and Mukundan for this most scenic drive. Simply splendid with a few traps to challenge us a bit. Take care, Pierre

[Alain Canivet-Abikhalil]

Thank you @Brette I enjoyed being your 2nd lead.

It was a very nice ride in a beautiful scenery. And it's always lovely to meet new people

see you soon !

[Brette]

Trip Report.

With summer setting in and drives starting earlier now, it was nice to see everyone at the meeting point on time and almost done with deflating too. The Khatam entry towards fossil rock is a bit tricky for newbies with really soft patches scattered around but I was pleasantly surprised that the entire convoy coped really well with absolutely no stucks and just a few refusals. 

Going past fossil rock towards camel rock, we entered quite a sticky area which was a bit technical and to make matters worse, the area was covered in shrubs but again the entire convoy navigated through it very well and thanks to @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil being a perfect second lead and maintaining the required distance, he was able to reroute a few times to avoid a few deep pockets. Just before we got onto the track towards Faya, unfortunately @Fiel Francis Telan mistook took a wrong turn and had a bit of a nose dive that damaged his front bumper and alignment on the fender. Hope you get that sorted out soon buddy.

Just past camel rock before we took the track to Faya, we had to stop as @Fabien Monleau and @Marky Bhad a refusal and while waiting I noticed a smaller dune with a climb similar to front of pink rock but not as high and thought it would be nice for everyone to give it a shot. While the rest of the convoy waited, I went up to check if it had a decent exit as there were rocks on the other side and not enough place to just do a loop. By the time I checked, @Tbone and @Mukundan Nair sorted out the refusals at the end of the convoy and then everyone attempted the climb one at a time. This is where we had quite a few refusals but it was also a learning as most of the refusals were due to the vehicles upshifting and loosing momentum at the wrong time. A re-attempt in 1st or 2nd gear did the trick for everyone. From here on, it was a pretty smooth drive all the way to Faya. Since Faya is always covered in cross tracks, we went towards the side which had absolutely no tracks on it and made a few attempts at small sideys before attempting to climb up the Faya cheat route and then heading out. 

Thanks to @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil @Tbone and @Mukundan Nair for being the perfect support team. 

@samamara @Naim Aoun @Fiel Francis Telan @bunty_and_pops @Marky B @Fabien Monleau @Pierre de Maigret all of you managed really well and I look forward to driving with you'll again. 

 

 

[Naim Aoun]

Great drive and leadership. Looking fwd for a repeat ride ASAP.