COVID 19 compliant -RSVP 20 Afternoon Fewbie Plus Desert drive - Lisaili - Dubai - 5 Jun 2021

[Shehab Alawadhi]

Great drive @Foxtrot Oscar i really enjoyed it. Good job @Arman as always . Thank you @Alexander Alcala great job! @Islam Solimanhope my help made your job easier at the back. @Jack Thomas great driving with you again dude! 

See you all soon Inshallah 

[Foxtrot Oscar]

Drive Report

Well that was a whole load of fun! You guys were all amazing!

We started off a little later as I had petrol station drama…..thankfully Islam had everyone ready and it took me 5 mins to get my car sorted. Thanks for that Islam.

We headed into the technical dunes and made our way to the promised land of the wide, long range dunes this area is famed for. The sun was dazzling, and the sparkling white sands were difficult to read but we managed well and had lots of fun , gently side sloping and finding our desert groove. There was some instances of fishtailing to begin with but that resolved itself as drivers remembered to control their car and not allow the car to control them.

As the drive progressed so too did the challenge and those ridges beckoned us to flatten them down and so the ridge riding , criss-crossing fiesta ensued. It was great to see so many of you handle this technical aspect of desert driving so well; Keeping your momentum just right to allow you to ride the ridge smoothly and holding that steering to keep your car under control. I don’t think we had a single refusal or crest in those moments. Well done.

As we headed into the sunset and the taller dunes we increased the pace ever so slightly and again, the convoy matched the challenge  and continued to eat up everything I could throw their way. Again, we only had a couple of refusals along the way and again, all managed to recover without the need of a rope or a shovel. Truly wonderful! With the light fading and darkness falling we had a fresh challenge and so the pace slowed but the technical aspect was still continued.

It was at this point that we had to make the call, and I decided that the best thing was to see who wanted more more more, there were eight of us all wishing to go on. So, as we reached the exit point half the convoy removed their flags and started to inflate and the rest of us headed into the black abyss for a further challenge ! I loved this! It was an adrenalin packed couple of hours as we climbed up and down and in and around some hefty dunes, we even had beautiful, young gazelles wishing to play with us. I don’t think they have ever come so close to me. They were fearless, as were the guys behind me haha. We had some tight technical spots and more bush than the Australian Outback but everyone in the extended drive drove brilliantly! 

We covered 87km in 5hrs 38mins with a total driving time of 4hrs 11 mins…..I could have gone on, but @Arman has a tiny tank 😉

@RooRzOn – first time I had driven with you and you surprised me, you had a great drive, and coped with absolutely everything , Excellent!

@Matt.T– another great drive from you ,self recovered, no drama, Brilliant stuff.

@Xavier Treasurer – a very good drive from you, some fishtailing to be mindful of ,but you coped well and self recovered with no issues, the pop out was a reminder to be careful with your angles when coming down, but it’s a learning curve. Well done, good driving.

@Ruan van den Heever – Another I hadn’t driven with, excellent drive, you handled everything. The crest in the extended drive was just one of those things. Great stuff!

@Darren Brooke – You are definitely getting more used to the Tahoe, and you handled the ridge riding really well, again, another who could self recover, no drama, Great job.

@JeromeFJ – Excellent driving Jerome, you took everything really well, showed finesse when it was required and had a good day out there, slightly too much gas over that crest in the extended drive, but the night plays tricks with the eyes , Excellent stuff.

@Lakshmi Narasimhan – You were further back and dealing with all the churned up sand which you coped well with, just a couple of pop outs , which as I said, are all about angles, you’ll get used to it with time. That aside it was a very good drive from you .Well done

@Ranjan Das – I don’t think you had any issues at the back and coped with everything really well. I think there was just one occasion you were a little too close . It’s hard to keep your momentum but also to be mindful of the guy in front, that aside it was a very good drive from you, Well done

@Jack Thomas – Yalla mate! Great drive, think you lost the track once but dealt with everything at the back, smashing through the churned up sand and riding those ridges with a touch of panache. Well done.

@Shehab Alawadhi – Yalla habibi haha – great drive from you too, similar to Jack in having to deal with the churn at the back, but dealt with it you did with zero issues. You even got to fix a pop out under the guidance of Islam. Well done


Many many thanks to my wondaful support . @Arman who was the epitome of the perfect 2^nd lead, re-outing when asked and providing feedback for those in the convoy behind him, Brilliant job!  @Alexander Alcala who was great in the middle making sure everyone was dealing with the drive and giving advice when needed, and of course to @Islam Soliman who got everyone ready at the start point and was on hand to deal with the pop outs and give advice on some refusals , ensuring everything kept moving at the back.

Finally, you guys! What a great drive, thank you for driving so well, following instructions and communicating clearly, and of course for the great banter and the belly laughs too. I had so much fun!

Until our next adventure! 😎

 

[Darren Brooke]

@Foxtrot OscarHave to say, absolutely loved the drive, great fun, great banter and the dunes were pretty good also 🤣🤣

Makes a change for you not to have to recover me at some point on the drive, so i guess i must be getting better (at least at the self recovery) 🤦‍♂️

@Arman you smashed the 2nd lead, was a joy to watch

@Jack Thomasthanks for the extra guidance on dealing with a couple of refusals

@Islam Solimanas always great having you on the drive and reassuring knowing that you are sweeping every body along, not that you needed to do too much (other than a few pop outs) as everyone was driving so well.

@Alexander Alcalafirst drive with you and hope it wont be the last, thanks for holding the centre together.

Thanks to everyone else for a great drive

Finally @Foxtrot Oscarcant wait for the next Fewbie ++ (can see @Gauravmaking this a new level 😀)

Till the next time stay safe

 

[JeromeFJ]

Many thanks Angela @Foxtrot Oscar !

I loved the drive, packed with action, side sloping, criss cross, long ridges,  you made the most of what the terrain had to offer !!

And the last technical portion in the dark was perfect to push a bit the challenge !

Thanks to all in the convoy, in particular @Arman @Alexander Alcala @Islam Soliman for the support and guidance !

[Ruan van den Heever]

I would like to give a big shout out to this drive and all the participants.

@Foxtrot Oscar for an excellent lead and banter thank you very much. I have to be honest, your lead and drive style, the challenges and obstacles you lead us to experience were all I expected a Fewbie+ drive to be. I shall join your drives any day again.

Getting crested.....a shame on me. I could have sworn that even the Jeep snored at me when I parked at home last night. We both licked our wounds. 

To @Islam Soliman for an excellent sweep and coming to the rescue, overseeing a few pop-outs thank you very much. We did not spend more than 20 minutes on any situation.

@Arman an excellent second lead. Remember to also look on top next time. I shall remember to carry a drink for your car with me on a next drive

@Alexander Alcala I had a lot of fun keeping a close eye on your Jeep in front of me.

Wondering into the dark of night again for a second round of adrenaline. Thank you to all that joined, vegetation or not we had fun. It's not everyday our wheels feel grass underneath them.

This was the drive with the absolute most ridge riding and cris-crossing I had been on since joining the club. It took me a while to figure out exactly what about these drives it is that gets my adrenaline flowing. I do understand that gaining experience in all areas of sand driving is what makes a well rounded driver but the somewhat faster pace and body roll of a cris-cross eventually is what makes me sit upright and thoroughly enjoy the drives. 

@Foxtrot Oscar thank you for the cold one before we departed home. Have a great week. Until we drive again.

   

[Alexander Alcala]

It took me a while to find the time to write this report.

I will start thanking @Foxtrot Oscarfor assigning me the CF position.  I am used to being the sweep and this was a different experience.

I enjoyed very much the route and the driving.  The heat and the bright sun made it hard to read the dunes but the convoy handled it beautifully. I am really proud of all you guys that no-one got stuck and were able to self recover from every refusal (and also very happy that you didn't make me sweat under the scorching sun at almost 50 degrees).

I was resuming my jeeping after over a month off the tracks and my jeep behaved exceptionally well, even on that little jump after the steep little step.  I am happy to be back.

@armaanreally surprised me with his driving this time.  Really enjoyed watching you mastering the slopes and the ridges.

@Xavier Treasurer At the beginning I think you had some difficulties but were very quick to regain control and accommodate to the complexities of the super soft sand.  Kudos for you on a solid performance.

@Islam Soliman It was great to see you handle the pop outs and teaching the team how to quickly re inflate.  

I had some family commitmments that impeded me to continue for the final night part but I had a glimpse of the terrain in the final part of the first segment.

It's a pity that we can't have the regular group conversations because of covid, but I hope that we will soon resume that social part of our adventures.

I hope to see you again soon on the dunes.