Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Lahbab to Lisaili - Dubai - 27 Aug 2021

[Ranjan Das]

Hi Richard @Wrangeld, thanks a lot.

have a clear slot in Vinod’s drive for Friday; you may remove me from the waitlist. Needless to say that I will be on the lookout for your next drive - much looking forward.

[Wrangeld]

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalil you're confirmed for this drive if you want. 

[Alain Canivet-Abikhalil]

4 hours ago, Wrangeld said:

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalil you're confirmed for this drive if you want. 

Confirm thank you Richard 

[Wrangeld]

Dear Friday Drivers, 

I know you've all been waiting just for this!

Here's the convoy list for the morning. I will advise on the radio channel in the morning. 

Sleep well 

See you soon in the sand. 

[Naveen Raj]

10 minutes ago, Wrangeld said:

Dear Friday Drivers, 

I know you've all been waiting just for this!

Here's the convoy list for the morning. I will advise on the radio channel in the morning. 

Sleep well 

See you soon in the sand. 

@Wrangeldmy car is pajero not pathfinder 😊

[Wrangeld]

30 minutes ago, Naveen Raj said:

@Wrangeldmy car is pajero not pathfinder 😊

Noted. That's great news!

You can still come. Even though it's a different car. 

 

[Christopher Assal]

😂 

[munkybizness]

Thank you @Wrangeld for another fun run. I will admit I was not quite up to snuff today. Misjudged my throttle control, quite a few lines, and giving myself adequate space leading to refusals, and of course the stuck that brought @Alex Raptor, @Niki & @Christopher Assalout with shovels very early on. Thank you gents for the shovelling and  Richard for getting me tugged out.

Supremely impressed by @Naveen Rajand his 3.0l Pajero, and Christopher seeing you in the rear view so easily negotiating through the terrain was a constant reminder of what the Patrol can do - when in the right hands 🤩

To the rest of the convoy, thank you for your patience. See you all out on the sands soon!

 

[Wrangeld]

Post Drive Report

I love it when a plan comes together. This morning's ride fits that description and is why I really enjoyed the drive and am really grateful to everyone for their focus and attention through almost 4 hours of uninterrupted driving.

Our route took us from Lehbab, through some beautiful and quite soft dunes, across the high pressure gas line, all the way to Margham and then back out to Lisaili. On this journey we saw what is some of my favorite scenery, lots of different dune formation styles, a bit of technical fun and we even ended on time. 

The support today - impeccable: @Alex Raptor is the most fantastic wingman for a drive lead. With the support of the sweep @Niki, I really had nothing to do on the recoveries and barely had to get out of my driving seat. 

As second lead, @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil has some experience of being in this role and today he was excellent. The distance he kept from my lead was perfect, which meant that he was always able to redirect if needed or not take some of the more difficult routes that I attempted. 

Sand was soft, yet everyone coped amazingly well. 

Special Call outs: 

@Pierre de Maigret your return after a few weeks on a Fewbie at this level - hat's off. We expect that there will be refusals at the end of the convoy. It's hard to get through the sand at the back. It's why our experienced drivers are at Sweep. 

@S Jacob SWB Pajero. Perfect! (But them I am biased) and without the benefit of the extra power of the 3.8 and no diff lock, you're handling the car well. Some of your refusals came today because you do not carry enough momentum. 

@Ehab - you're a few drives away from Fewbie Plus, so a Fewbie now if well within your capabilities. Use these sort of drives to practice a skill so that it gets better and better. 

@Damien Ranjit - that Pathfinder is in good hands. You too need to think about the amount of momentum you carry into a climb or problem. It will help you to have more controlled momentum to use it when you need it.

@Abdul Rafay-S your driving gets better and better. You are totally in control of that car. Very few people understand the massive benefit of having been a passenger in a car on multiple drives. We all want to drive, but I think that everyone needs to be a passenger at least 5 times to understand the drive from a totally different perspective and learn from that, like you. 

@Naveen Raj - a good drive in a vehicle that is a little less well powered than most. Says a lot about your driving that you don't every look disadvantaged because of this. 

@munkybizness - we all have days when it does not all string together. Treat the whole day as a learning experience and find the takeaways that you can from what you've learned. Watching Chris will help you. He's starting to pull out the potential from his car

@Christopher Assal all that Patrol whispering is paying off. All the mods seem to be working to your benefit. Was great to see you. 

My only regret today was that no-one actually say the monumental self recovery I managed on this drive. My point here is not to boast that I managed a good recovery. It's to continue to remind everyone that when you get stuck. here ever possible you want to try to drive off. It might take a bit of time - but so what? That's what these drives are for. 

See you soon in the sand. 

 

[Niki]

@Wrangeldthanks….. again!  Long periods of radio silence, free flowing convoy and a drive led with humor and supportive throughout!  This is now your ‘signature’ … I think it’s time we replace Mr.Technical …. Suggestions welcome and the best title will win a prize  

was a pleasure to be part of this convoy - @Alex Raptor flawless again in CF supporting all and I even got a turn to have a tug! 

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalil SL duties again for you and yet again, perfectly managed! 

@munkybizness I think you are being hard on yourself… near 4 hours with one rope and a few reattempts .. considering the soft sand and being at the tail end - I’d say a strong drive and as you’ve already called out .. an opportunity to build on our skill with the throttle and steering controls. 

@Pierre de Maigret right at the back with soft difficult tracks and you running the stock FJ tires!  I salute you in how you drove… also getting to see the magic of A-trac was well worth the mini crest! Consider that when/if you move to true AT tires - your may find driving too easy! 

@Christopher Assal was a pleasure being on a drive with you again… even though you seemingly got dressed in the dark and accidentally picked up your wife’s bright pink leggings/socks - they should become your go-to desert driving gear as you were immense!  thanks for the support with the limited stucks we had. 

@Abdul Rafay-S at your age I hadn’t even mastered parallel parking and here you are effortlessly managing a fewbie!  I genuinely thought your dad was driving and there is no bigger compliment than that! 

@S Jacob @Ehab @Damien Ranjit - look forward to a being on a convoy with you all again soon!