COVID19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Chased by the Sun: Murqaab to Solar Park - Dubai - 11 Jun 2021

[Veedooshee]

On 6/11/2021 at 1:31 PM, Paolo Pellegrini said:

For convoy A I posted some images here https://carnity.com/gallery/category/800-newbie-murquab-dubai-11-june-2021 

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for being a fantastic Marshal. A real "Lord of the Desert"! Thanks for the progressive complexity of the track, the clear security briefing, the stops to admire the life of the desert. Nothing more and nothing less than perfect.

Thanks @Veedoosheefor being my guardian angel again. For these initial drives I'm always in the first part of the convoy (which I like it btw) and I now know you are watching over me  

Start to getting familiar with some of the club members which is great! @Alfred Alinazar @Naim Aoun @Abdul Rafay-S @shu yang @Jamil Abou Assali @Joseph Sebastian @Luc Khaldoun @Mukundan Nair and my brother @Ivan Pironi 

 

Thank you @Paolo Pellegrini..We always support each other ...pleasure to share all I have learnt from the carnity family (it's an endless list☺️) and actually keep learning together with u all...

I have started seeing your growth from your last drive, you just doing great..and I will keep watching on you whenever we r on the same drives..😉

[Joseph Sebastian]

Thanks @Ale Vallecchifor leading this very fun drive. While trying to give the newbies on the convoy a diverse terrain and challenges to learn, also taking the time to give some theory lessons. And when my TJ had some transmission issues being patient enough to escort me to the nearest track to civilization. Many thanks.

Many thanks also to the ever patient guidance from @Veedoosheeand @Mukundan Nair(and anyone else who happened to be nearby was always keen to help as well) during the other minor and non typical  challenges on the drive, shows what an inclusive and motivating group this is. Looking forward to be back on the next drive once I get my ride back in decent mechanical shape. See you all soon...

[Alain Canivet-Abikhalil]

Thank you @Yousef Alimadadi for leading us and @Vanessa8580 and @Kalahari for watching and supporting us from the back. 

As @varunmehndiratta mentioned the challenges were many and oh so instructive. Not only when I got refusals and when I got crested but also when supporting other members to shovel and tug them out (I did use my brand new rope 4 times that morning and I enjoyed the responsibility). @Tero Vallas thank you for getting me out, it was comforting to benefit from your experience and advice.

 

 

[Ehab]

 

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi , highly appreciate accommodating me in the last minute, the trip with @Yousef Alimadadi, was amazing, thank you Yousef.

@varunmehndiratta@Pierre de Maigret@Adhir Saxena @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil @Tero Vallas @Kalahari  @PaoloMaraziti@Thomas Varghese@Goutam@Vanessa8580 

Enjoy the video

 

 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Murqaab to Solar Park: Chased by the Sun - Drive Report

"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming you things you once thought you couldn't." - Rumi

Dear Desertanuts.

When I plan Newbie drives I prefer to look into areas that can offer e variety of challenges, which can allow, on one hand, to escalate the drive to a higher level of difficulty, and on the other, to guarantee that any troubles and delays can be safely handled, with a number of exit points readily available.  The former aspect, that of being able to bump the drive up, is the one that I dedicate more time to: to be able to reach a more challenging level, testing the drivers' skills beyond their perceived levels, and beginning to get a taste of what's to come at higher ranks. 

In this particular drive, the area of Murqaab was perfect for a nice and easy start, with its tall but humpy and gentle dunes. After the warm up, and a short drive along the sand highway connecting Murqaab to Lisaili, the latter plateau provided the perfect terrain for pushing the drive to higher levels. The low, compact and open dunes at the beginning of the Lisaili area were great for setting the drive's pace a little faster. After a while, with the convoy in full swing, the taller and tighter dunes, dotted with long canyons and deeper sandy bowls, gave the convoy a preview of what Fewbie and above drives are going to be. All of the above while we were always followed by the sun, rising higher and warmer in the sky behind the convoy. A couple of nice treats made the drive even more interesting: a small copse of Ghaf trees, in an area I strayed into for the first time, and a spectacular long caravan of camels, led by their shepherd, on the back of his "desert ship". The drive came to an end just next to so-called "Three Trees", where another camel's caravan was resting under the shade provided by these 3 lonely trees, taking the place of the caravans and tents which often occupy this great picnic and sunset area, just next to the tarmac road from Solar Park to Qudra Lakes.

From the drive and convoy's points of view, I walked away from the drive with a pleasant taste in my mouth, and a smile on my lips. All drivers did great, rising to the Lisaili challenge, "overcoming things they may once have thought they couldn't". The stucks occurred mostly at the beginning of the drive, when cars and drivers were still "cold", while a number of expectable refusals, in the middle if Lisaili, were expertly handled by the omnipresent duo of @Veedooshee and @Mukundan Nair, always offering calm, reassuring, and competent advise to support the members' self recoveries. Considering the smoothness of the drive, I question myself if I made it too easy. More likely, the convoy responded greatly to the obstacles, testing themselves successfully with rudiments of ridge riding and criss-crossing, where the gentle nature of the dunes allowed them. 

So well done do everybody: @Alfred Alinazar (very well executed Second Lead), @Paolo Pellegrini, @Naim Aoun, @Abdul Rafay-S, @shu yang (I hope your kid recovered from the sea-sickness), @Jamil Abou Assali, @Joseph Sebastian (how is your car's gear?), @Luc Khaldoun (always drive in "snow mode" from now on), and @Ivan Pironi.  Great drive all of you!! 

At the end of the day, with the sun having caught up with us, and well high in the sky, the drive lasted 3:50 hours, of which 2:30 moving, covering 60.3 Km, at 24 Km/h while moving (and 16 Km/h overall average speed).

As far as the bonus drive provided for @Yousef Alimadadi (great thanks for taking up the lead of the extended half of the convoy), @Vanessa8580 (sweeping it to safety), @Kalahari, @Thomas Varghese, @Veedooshee and @Mukundan Nair, the Intermediates and above who had joined the extended convoy, well, there isn't much to say. In fact, almost the entire drive was done in silence, every driver just concentrated on the route, and enjoying a flawless performance. We went from the "Three Trees", across the tarmac, toward the southern long dunes of Bab al Shams, and all the way up to Qudra's exit, zipping through all kinds of terrains, covering 53.6 Km in just 1:39 hour (with only 2 minutes of stopping time (due to a piece of vegetation getting stuck at the back of Vanessa' car and setting her alarms off), driving at an average moving speed of 33Km/h. A superb and totally fun drive, worthy of Carnity's Long Range Desert Patrols, which concluded a great Friday morning.

Thanks to all for joining. Have a great week ahead. 

[Thomas Varghese]

1 minute ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Murqaab to Solar Park: Chased by the Sun - Drive Report

"Strength doesn't come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming you things you once thought you couldn't." - Rumi

Dear Desertanuts.

 

As far as the bonus drive provided for @Yousef Alimadadi (great thanks for taking up the lead of the extended half of the convoy), @Vanessa8580 (sweeping it to safety), @Kalahari, @Thomas Varghese, @Veedooshee and @Mukundan Nair, the Intermediates and above who had joined the extended convoy, well, there isn't much to say. In fact, almost the entire drive was done in silence, every driver just concentrated on the route, and enjoying a flawless performance. We went from the "Three Trees", across the tarmac, toward the southern long dunes of Bab al Shams, and all the way up to Qudra's exit, zipping through all kinds of terrains, covering 53.6 Km in just 1:39 hour (with only 2 minutes of stopping time (due to a piece of vegetation getting stuck at the back of Vanessa' car and setting her alarms off), driving at an average moving speed of 33Km/h. A superb and totally fun drive, worthy of Carnity's Long Range Desert Patrols, which concluded a great Friday morning.

Thanks to all for joining. Have a great week ahead. 

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi and the co drivers who participated in this drive. The convoy was moving as a well oiled machine and as far as i could see the distance between the cars remained the same come whatever maybe the terrain and was driving and driving. Even though @Ale Vallecchi promised only half an hour drive the convoy kept moving and moving in total radio silence for about one and a half hour. Incredible drive. 

[Luc Khaldoun]

@Ale Vallecchi, thank you so much for your patience and for taking the time to teach how to become a better driver. @Veedooshee and @Mukundan Nair, thank you to you too for your support for what has been a truly enjoyable drive. 

[Joseph Sebastian]

12 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

@Joseph Sebastian (how is your car's gear?)

Ale - thanks for asking. It's working fine, looks like it needed to cool down. So will get it diagnosed first to see if its an electronic issue or a heating issue or something else.... first guess is that maybe an auxiliary transmission cooler, we will see. Will be back on the sand in quick time - once its taken care of...