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COVID19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Plus Desert Drive - Al Qudra to Mighty Lisaili Dunes - Dubai - 8 May 2021


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Dear Desert Wanderers, 

Due to a technical problem I'm unable to post the convoy numbering now. I will do it in 1h approx. 

Departure time is 5.30am, flagged and deflated, so be on site by 5.15am

We will be using channel 1 (446.00625 Mhz). 

See you tomorrow morning. 

 

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Dear Desert Wanderers, 

here's the convoy numbering for tomorrow:

image.png.17a39afbb9198d854c275ad181b445d9.png

@Batuhan Kulac, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @Gok Krish, @Shaaz Sha, @Watteau, @Ranjan Das, @Janarthan, this drive is going to be technically demanding as it is a Fewbie+ level. It will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, so make sure you come well rested, hydrated and you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Also, please consider carefully if you

We will be using Carnity Channel 1 (446.00625 Mhz). 

See tomorrow morning, ready to go (i.e. already deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 5:30am (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 5:15am.

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12 hours ago, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

Dear Desert Wanderers, 

here's the convoy numbering for tomorrow:

image.png.17a39afbb9198d854c275ad181b445d9.png

@Batuhan Kulac, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @Gok Krish, @Shaaz Sha, @Watteau, @Ranjan Das, @Janarthan, this drive is going to be technically demanding as it is a Fewbie+ level. It will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, so make sure you come well rested, hydrated and you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Also, please consider carefully if you

We will be using Carnity Channel 1 (446.00625 Mhz). 

See tomorrow morning, ready to go (i.e. already deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 5:30am (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 5:15am.

Hi @Lorenzo Candelpergher, what a wonderful drive you curated- full of thrills and challenges. Started with witnessing the mighty sun rising on a clear horizon and looped our way through Quadra and Lisaili; was genuinely sad to see the drive end, certainly was wanting more. Thanks a lot. Already looking forward to your next one!

@Janarthan and @Shaaz Sha thank you for all the support.

0CFD293D-84C6-4C41-AAB7-7F0588E22616.jpeg

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Thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher for the wonderful drive with utmost safety. What else can be expected? Ultimate roller coster ride for a Fewbie morning, so fast, technical dune, long range dunes along with few refusals, popout learnt new techniques and many camel convoys on the way. Thanks to @Shaz Shah, @Janarthan for the recoveries and tips and entire convoy for being patient and providing chances to try and overcome the challenges, definitely need more of such refreshing drives. Looking forward to meet again in sands.

 

C59AFAC4-7A7C-4BE5-ABB1-81457A498D66.jpeg

5376DCA6-F3FE-4F03-8ECD-19157601CA7B.jpeg

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DRIVE REPORT

Dear Desert Wanderers, 

Today's drive was one of those drives you'd never want to end. 

Everyone made it to the meeting point fairly on time, so we were able to start moving by 5:43am, making our entry in the desert from the sabkha on the south east side of the pylon track where we met. 

The entry point in the actual desert is always tricky here: small technical dunes, with very irregular patterns, sharp crests and deep pockets. I believe I never led a drive here without someone getting stuck, and again it was the case today, with @Lakshmi Narasimhanwho got crested but was very effective in self recovering. 

As we moved more inside, we started enjoying the magnificent view of these bright sand dunes in the morning sunlight. 

After a few stucks and refusals we reached the first area of long range dunes, when the fun started. I personally love this area as the ridges here are extremely long and oriented east-west, ie with perfect light conditions when riding towards the sun, even though, due to the frequent rock formations, it can be dangerous and should never be underestimated. 

With a short and very capable convoy the ridge riding was pure fun and the rocks were a nice addition to the landscape rather then a concern, to the extent that we really indulged in the area for quite a while, as can be seen from the screenshot below (red areas are rocks, FYI):1087511190_Screenshot_20210508-132556_GaiaGPS.jpg.3db1b65bc5c64f005ab8630f21655c01.jpg

As the convoy was doing extremely well, the level of the drive could be increased a bit more, both in pace and in technical difficulty. We started adding more criss-crossing and more ascents from the slip face, which resulted in more challenges and some more refusals and reattempts.

@Batuhan Kulac as my 2nd lead did an excellent job with his G63. I keep on being surprised how he gets through all situations despite his very low profile tires. 

@Lakshmi Narasimhan had a hard time today, having to re-learn how to drive his car after the addition of 40+ kg of extra load on the front due to the installation of the new winch. As the drive progressed, however, I had the clear impression his confidence increased. Well done. 

@Gok Krish handled his capable Jeep Wrangler in a very clean swift way. It took a nasty hidden pocket combined with a moment of distraction to get him stuck and in need for a quick winching out. 

@Shaaz Sha was an eccellent Center Forward, very generous in instructing and assisting any of the cars who had refusals or stucks around him. He got tricked by a crest and needed a tug at some point, but in return he shoveled everyone else out, great generosity. Kudos! 

@Ranjan Das today probably tested his Jeep Wrangler and his driving skills at their best, but this resulted in a flawless drive, very well conducted from start to end, and, as I understand, in a lot of fun. 

@Watteau (Alex) led his monster truck nice and easy in all situations. The level of the drive was quite high and some passages on crests or tight dunes were not at all trivial for such a long wheel base vehicle but he dealt with them brilliantly. 

@Janarthan at the back impersonated the ideal sweep every lead could desire, always present and supporting whenever needed. Jana and I shared our Leaders Lead sessions, so it was a particular pleasure for me to have him in this drive and I look forward to return the favor and support one of his drives. 

As we bumped up the level, the drive became way more complex and demanding. It was at this point that @Lakshmi Narasimhan had a popout during an unfortunate descend while slide sloping. Thanks to the great help and experience of @Janarthanand @Shaaz Sha the poput was quickly sorted and we could move again.

As we continued our drive we moved further north-east to reach another great area of large and tall dunes, where we couldn't refrain from a double round at a spectacularly large playground dune, just before meeting another off-road convoy, camels! What a view... 

20210508_083754.jpg.95005c2fe21d6435ae72fae0e33179a8.jpg

We then started moving north to make it to the Lisaili Mighty Dunes, but on our way out to the flat area leading there I managed to get myself royally crested, which required a lot of shoveling by @Janarthan and @Shaaz Sha, to which I'm greatley thankful.

By the time we made it to the Mighty Dunes, the convoy was so excited, focused and warmed up that we literally had a blast up and down the place, totally unstoppable. The Mighty Lisaili Dunes are always a great experience and I believe everyone loved the epic ascents to the top. 

As time was running short, we moved north to get closer to our exit point but the fun on the Lisaili Long Range Dunes was just too much to stop, and we indulged in endless ridge riding, once again until we decided it was about time to make our way out, also considering that one of @Batuhan Kulac's passenger elwas starting to feel a bit car sick. 

We then steered sharply West and and crossed flawlessly the short portion of technical dunes before and after the pylon track to finally reach Lisaili Fort around 9:50am.

Overall we drove 68km in 3h 53', with 50' stopped for stucks and popout and an average moving speed of 22.3km/h, a very good pace, given the terrain. The ascent (+237/-230m) was also significant, meaning we did some serious climbing. 

It was a great drive. I had a lot of fun and I hope the whole convoy felt the same. Everyone did great and must be congratulated. The drive was smooth and safe thanks to the fantastic support by @Janarthan and @Shaaz Sha, my heroes for the day. 

See you in the sand soon! 

21 minutes ago, Lakshmi Narasimhan said:

Thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher for the wonderful drive with utmost safety. What else can be expected? Ultimate roller coster ride for a Fewbie morning, so fast, technical dune, long range dunes along with few refusals, popout learnt new techniques and many camel convoys on the way. Thanks to @Shaz Shah, @Janarthan for the recoveries and tips and entire convoy for being patient and providing chances to try and overcome the challenges, definitely need more of such refreshing drives. Looking forward to meet again in sands.

 

C59AFAC4-7A7C-4BE5-ABB1-81457A498D66.jpeg

5376DCA6-F3FE-4F03-8ECD-19157601CA7B.jpeg

Beautiful shots  @Lakshmi Narasimhan!! 

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26 minutes ago, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

We started adding more criss-crossing and more ascents from the slip face, which resulted in more challenges and some more refusals and reattempts.

Wow didn’t realize that was from slip side, no wonder the momentum was not enough, still managed to cross with all of your inputs🥂, must focus on that as well going forward!!!

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You really cannot ask for anything more from a desert drive than what our little convoy experienced today. A special thank you to @Lorenzo Candelpergher and @Janarthan for giving my skid plate a few more dents, fixing my flag, taking care and leading the convoy in order to make this happen. Always a pleasure seeing @Lakshmi Narasimhan @Gok Krish and @Ranjan Das. I sadly did have a sick passenger near the end of the drive which held back others including myself who wanted to keep going... my passenger's condition did not improve despite hydrating, a little walk and my efforts to be more gentle. Sorry to disappoint in that regard. @Watteau I absolutely loved watching your giant beast beat down the dunes! Thanks to @Shaaz Sha for leading the back half through our churned up mess!

Hope to see you guys again, all of you were awesome!

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