Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Sweihan - Abu Dhabi - 24 Sep 2021

[Srikumar]

Join us to explore Sweihan Desert in Abu Dhabi and learn the art of offroading in a versatile playground for your first off-road adventure.

You will learn to self-drive your vehicle from experts having decades of off-roading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridges to test your off-road control.

Drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicles having

• 8-10 inches of ground clearance and (MANDATORY)
• Front and rear tow hooks (MANDATORY)

What you'll learn:

• Introduction to off-roading.
• Desert driving basics and etiquette.
• Desert driving tips, techniques, myth and best practices.
• Off-road and safety gear familiarization and recovery procedures.
• Vehicle orientation, risk analysis, deflation and outdoor safety advice.

First time with Carnity Off-road Club:

• Please share your vehicle details - Make, Model, Year.
• Do you have any prior off-road experience?
• Confirm your vehicle has front and rear tow hooks / eyelets.

Why should i join?

• We will teach you how to self-drive off-road safely and learn the best offroad driving and recovery techniques.
• If you have already driven in sand before then you can learn more from experts having decades of offroading experience in the UAE.
• This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridge to test your off-road control.

Can my vehicle do this ?

• This drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicle having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and front and rear tow hooks. If in doubt please first announce your questions on the drive thread so we can advise you further.
• Any stock 4x4/4WD are most welcome, you don't need any vehicle modifications.

Can i bring passengers ?

• Yes of course, but if you are absolute new to offroading it is better to drive alone first to avoid any distractions.

 

Learn More About: Carnity Off-road Club

 

 

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 (All Levels)

When:  24 September 2021, Friday

Meeting time: 6:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point: - https://goo.gl/maps/Loy4FD3HAnE4Yo4k6

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), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 10:00 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 BELOW CALENDAR EVENT

 

[Srikumar]

@Johannes Roux @Salim Akhtar @Mohamad Anwer @Bobby Jacob  @Mohammed Ibrahim

Thank you for joining tomorrow's Sweihan drive. For those who would be driving with us for the first time welcome to the Carnity Offroad Club.

 

PREPARATION FOR THE DRIVE AND WHAT TO EXPECT

1) Please ensure that you reach the meeting point on time, i.e., 6:00 AM sharp. Reaching 10 mins early would be better, but dont be late. Also, ensure that you have tow points at the front and rear with 8 inch (min ground clearance)

2) All first timers with Carnity need to ensure that they have gone through the Newbie briefing Video :

https://youtu.be/hP-2ah4Eyek

3) The senior members on tomorrow's drive would be @Jeepie and myself. 

4) We will be using Carnity Channel 3 tomorrow. (446.05625 Mhz). The instructions to program the radio are provided in the below post. Please ensure that you have a fully charged and programmed radio before the drive. If you are a first timer with Carnity we shall provide you with a spare radio for this drive, if you dont have one. 

5) All traction controls, Airbags and ABS need to be switched off. While turning off traction control is mandatory, its ok if you are unable to turn off the Airbags for this drive. Traction Control, ABS and Airbags can be disabled by a button or by pulling the fuse. Incase of any queries you can always ask me or the senior members before the drive or better still, post your queries on this drive post and we would assist. 

https://carnity.com/advice/offroad/carnity-two-way-radio-frequencies-r119

6) You will need a pressure gauge and deflator as a minimum. If you have a compressor it would be good to being along.

7) For highway tyres you can deflate to 15 psi. Those who have AT tyres, you can deflate to 13 psi. 

We shall be starting the drive on some flat tracks and would build up the pace from there depending on the convoy response. We will be driving for about 3.5 hours practicing driving in sand, proper steering control, crossing some dunes, and getting you and your vehicle more familiarized with the desert.

By 10:00 am we will be heading out towards the ADNOC gas station.

Convoy Numbering

1. Srikumar

2. Mohd Anwer

3. Yazir

4. Mohd Ibrahim

5. Johannes

6. Salim Akhter

7. Nabil

8. Jeepie

Incase of emergency my contact number is 0559567471

[Mohammed Yazir Thattarathil]

@Srikumar myself yasser new to this group. Riding a swb pajero. Can i join this ride for tomorrow?

[ShereenMK]

@Srikumar i roped in one more member to carnity family. Mr. Yasir. Kindly add him to tomorrow's newbie ride.

[Srikumar]

34 minutes ago, Mohammed Yazir Thattarathil said:

@Srikumar myself yasser new to this group. Riding a swb pajero. Can i join this ride for tomorrow?

Added your name. See you tomorrow.

[Srikumar]

Trip Report

As we are coming to the end of September, if one observes closely you can feel the slight chill in the morning air. A preview of the good weather that is not very far from now.

We had one AN in our convoy with the others having a few drives under their belt. We started easy in the broad dunes, that I have come to love in Sweihan which helps keep a brisk pace, even for ANs. As the convoy was responding very well, we decided the head to the north of Sweihan which have the massive dunes and bowls. The size of the dunes can intimidate the best, but the entire convoy showed a lot of courage as we moved from one dune to the other. 

Along the way we came across a massive bowl and as we were making our way to it's entry point, we had our first and last scare of the drive - a flying Pajero. A bit too much speed and the car just took off. 😅. Luckily no major damage and we could get the front bumper looking just as new again. The newbies entered the bowl and we were shown how to exit out, before me, @Mohamad Anwerand @Jeepie made an attempt to circle the bowl. The bumps on one side of the bowl did make it difficult to gain the full momentum, but we all had our adrenaline rush with more than a couple of attempts.

We then moved towards the exit and with a bit of fatigue starting to kickin', so did the number of refusals and sticks, but nothing that couldn't be managed by @Jeepie. All in a day's work!!

Some brilliant driving by the entire bunch of Newbies @Johannes Roux @Mohammed Yazir Thattarathil @Salim Akhtar @Mohammed Ibrahim @Nabeel Abdul Rahman to keep their nerve, follow precise instructions and drive through the mighty dunes of Sweihan.

An excellent second lead by @Mohamad Anwer whom I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time.

And finally a big shout out to the Superwoman of the day @Jeepie , whose support permitted me to be a bit more adventurous with the Newbies. 

Hope to catch up with you guys soon on the sand.

[Jeepie]

 @Johannes Roux @Mohammed Yazir Thattarathil @Salim Akhtar @Mohammed Ibrahim @Nabeel Abdul Rahman 

 @Mohamad Anwer @Srikumar I heard some complaints about not enough pictures of the Abu Dhabi drives; I hope this makes up for it a little🤣

 

Pictures in the gallery

 

[Johannes Roux]

Awesome Photos. Thanks for sharing. 😃

[Mohamad Anwer]

3 hours ago, Srikumar said:

Trip Report

As we are coming to the end of September, if one observes closely you can feel the slight chill in the morning air. A preview of the good weather that is not very far from now.

We had one AN in our convoy with the others having a few drives under their belt. We started easy in the broad dunes, that I have come to love in Sweihan which helps keep a brisk pace, even for ANs. As the convoy was responding very well, we decided the head to the north of Sweihan which have the massive dunes and bowls. The size of the dunes can intimidate the best, but the entire convoy showed a lot of courage as we moved from one dune to the other. 

Along the way we came across a massive bowl and as we were making our way to it's entry point, we had our first and last scare of the drive - a flying Pajero. A bit too much speed and the car just took off. 😅. Luckily no major damage and we could get the front bumper looking just as new again. The newbies entered the bowl and we were shown how to exit out, before me, @Mohamad Anwerand @Jeepie made an attempt to circle the bowl. The bumps on one side of the bowl did make it difficult to gain the full momentum, but we all had our adrenaline rush with more than a couple of attempts.

We then moved towards the exit and with a bit of fatigue starting to kickin', so did the number of refusals and sticks, but nothing that couldn't be managed by @Jeepie. All in a day's work!!

Some brilliant driving by the entire bunch of Newbies @Johannes Roux @Mohammed Yazir Thattarathil @Salim Akhtar @Mohammed Ibrahim @Nabeel Abdul Rahman to keep their nerve, follow precise instructions and drive through the mighty dunes of Sweihan.

An excellent second lead by @Mohamad Anwer whom I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time.

And finally a big shout out to the Superwoman of the day @Jeepie , whose support permitted me to be a bit more adventurous with the Newbies. 

Hope to catch up with you guys soon on the sand.

Thank you Srikumar for an amazing adventure on to what appeared to be unspoiled and un touched terrain with plenty of  beautiful wild life presence tracks. 

Thank you also for giving me the chance to drive along  the monster bowl, it was an amazing fun experiance fir me. 😀 

Looking forward to going out again shortly