Jump to content
  •  

Morning Fewbie Plus Desert Drive - "Oktoberfest Combo" - Faqa to Little Sweihan - Dubai - 16 Oct 2022


Varun Mehndiratta

Recommended Posts

Drive Plan

Lets gear up for a High on Speed, High on Octane and Super high on ambition drive. Starting off from Faqa, we plan to transverse through the awesome Long Ridge dunes in the area and move towards the closely packed super treacherous bowls of Little Sweihan.

Faqa and Little Sweihan individually itself can test the skill set of best of off-roaders. Our aspiration to cover both of them in one drive means a long distance to cover through some of the most mysterious of dunes - worthy of OKTOBERFEST COMBO :) 

See you all this Sunday.

General Overview

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: 

Drive Details

Level: FB+ & above.

When:  16th October'22, Sunday.

Meeting time: 5:45 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions).

Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/WbWFK5iwurzey1dF8

Type of Car: Any  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: 10:00AM

THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE UNLESS YOU HAVE A COMPRESSOR. ANYONE ARRIVING AT THE DRIVE WITHOUT A COMPRESSOR, FLAG, PROPER SHOVEL AND DEFLATION KIT WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. ALL TOW POINTS WILL BE CHECKED BEFORE DEPARTURE. 

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE:
  • Limited to 10 cars only. 
  • 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 below calendar

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Gaurav changed the title to Morning Fewbie Plus Desert Drive - "Oktoberfest Combo" - Faqa to Little Sweihan - Dubai - 16 Oct 2022

Dear Sand Sailors

@MMansoor @Daniel Rodas @Niki @Mahmoud Taha @Yusuf Esaf

WL - @salah2u @Imran Kashif

Thanks for RSVPing for the drive. I am sure most of you have been to Faqa and some already have had chance to explore Little Sweihan.  Both of these are my go to areas when in need for an adrenaline pump. And this attempt to combine them both together is really aspirational to say the least. 

We will need to be fast and we will need to be focussed - at all time. Even for me this will be first attempt as lead to try and cover both of these terrain together - so I am super excited and eagerly waiting for the weekend already. 

So make sure you plan your week in a way that you are well rested for Sunday. Ensure your vehicles are in their healthiest best. It will be challenging, it will test ours and our vehicle capabilities -in course make us all a better off roaders. 
See you all on Sunday. Ciao

  • Like (+1) 4
  • WOW (+2) 1
  • Totally Agree (+2) 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear Sand Sailors

Find below the convoy order and other details for the drive tomo. 
 

Meeting Point https://goo.gl/maps/WbWFK5iwurzey1dF8

Radio Channel : 3

Convoy Order : With small convoy size we will keep it revolving, to start with below is the order

1. Varun Mehndiratta

2. @Imteeaz will be the SL. 

3. @Mahmoud Taha in Xterra

4.  @Niki in FJC

5.  @Looper in Wrangler as Centre lead. 

6. @salah2u in Patrol

7. @MMansoor in Patrol will be Sweep. 

Looking forward to see you all👍

  • Like (+1) 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@varunmehndiratta thank you Varun for giving us, Sand Sailors, another amazing opportunity to sail under your leadership from Faqa to the end-point (not sure how to call this area...).

The weather was simply amazing yesterday, with a cool morning, which provided us with the correct conditions to enjoy the drive.

Minus a couple of minor refusals and tugs, we all drove well and managed to keep up with the momentum.

@Mahmoud Taha  well done mate - you seem to be getting better grip at your Xterra now.

@salah2u  always a pleasure to drive with you mate - looking forward to your promotion.

@Niki been a long time since we last drive together - enjoyed your clear instructions and directions on the radio.

@MMansoor  you still amaze me how you manage to handle this beast on the dunes - keep it up mate.

@Looper  no drive will be same without your calm presence mate - you really add experience to the center of the convoy, and always have the right solution.

Enjoy your week gents

  • Like (+1) 3
  • Thanks (+1) 1
  • Totally Agree (+2) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

thank you @Imteeaz @varunmehndiratta you are the master man.

@Looper @Niki many thanks dears for your support.

@salah2u @MMansoor nice to see you again guys, looking to see you next!

 

  • Like (+1) 4
  • Thanks (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahoy Sand Sailors, Greetings from the land of pyramids. 
 

I have been on move since I woke up for the drive this Sunday. Feels like the momentum we gathered during the drive has continued till now 😀, it was some good pace and action throughout the drive. Thanks for joining in and making it a fun exploration from Faqa to Little Sweihan or as some call it The Middle Earth (land between Dubai and Abu Dhabi) 😀.

I had my doubts (had never attempted it before), however with the strong convoy as it was, we managed to accomplish the mission we had set out for. Overall we covered around 63Km with an average moving speed of 28.8Kmph - an awesome stat considering the unlimited number of long ridges we travelled and the mysterious bowls in Little Sweihan area we sailed through, especially with treacherous nature of sand this weekend.  
 

While it was a FBplus drive, your response to challenges pushed me to maintain a level no less than Intermediate throughout the drive. Brilliant work all especially @Mahmoud Taha and @salah2u our FBplus sailors on this drive. You guys were no less at any point  of time. 
 

@Looper thanks as always for being a solid cf throughout. 
 
 @Imteeaz and @salah2u - hope you enjoyed being the SL in this fast paced drive. You handled the challenges very well - especially there were many crazy tight and soft spots that we crossed.

@Niki was good to see you after a long break - your shoveling skills have only gotten better during this long  break, as promised we gave you good enough time to flaunt the same 😀

 @MMansoor - another brilliant drive for you. Thanks for keeping the convoy together while sweeping the convoy during the first half. 
 
 @Mahmoud Taha awesome drive for you, minor refusals at this level is perfectly fine - it was surely beyond a standard FBPlus level drive and for that you did really well. As we discussed, a bit more planning while approaching a challenge makes a lot more diff. 
 

Thanks all, hope to see you all soon. 

  • Like (+1) 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all thank you very much @varunmehndiratta for an excellent drive.

It was slightly foggy morning on that Sunday and after a few long range dunes we ventured into an extremely technical area and obviously it quickly followed by a stuck situation. We recovered from it and played a little more in the long range dunes of Faqa again and ventured towards Little Sweihan in the Sabkha, briefly touching triple digit speeds. We saw some military  training being done. They came to us to advise us not to venture into their target range - of course we were not going to. This is something I love here in UAE - you can be free of worry when you see the uniform, and they treat you with respect and humility. After a quick break we started to play in the main play area of the drive. There were many changes to the convoy everyone getting a taste of all the places. At one time when the 2nd lead and the 3rd position were both mighty Patrols - the track behind them was churned to be powered. Good when you have to ride the ridges but a nightmare when doing side slops. Few more stucks and refusals and another long Sabhkha run to end the drive.

I would call it an Fewbie ++ if not an Intermediate level drive. Its just the terrain - the general area of Little Sweihan -  irrespective how you look at it, it is always going to be challenging.

It was nice to see @Niki after a long time. As is your motto is to shovel, I was definitely not going to do any shovelling on the day. I did bring my shovel out few times - but more for show than to actually shovel to be frank.

Great support by you @Imteeaz, it is becoming incrementally helpful to be you around the drive to see you guide on the refusals and seek support for the convoy members. 

@MMansoor when you are around, you are rostered to all the recoveries, and it was no different. Great to drive with you.

@salah2u you take full advantage of your Patrol, in the desert. The sheer power of the beast means that you just bulldoze over obstacles. It was nice to see you in the back and in the front of me. 

@Mahmoud Taha you were obviously thought it was Fewbie Plus drive, didn't you. I trust you had good learning experience. It is going to be a constant planning on each and every meter how you going to approach the line and what angle you are going to attack the track. 

Till we see each other next time.

Edited by Looper
  • Like (+1) 3
  • Thanks (+1) 1

don't drive like its your last one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Part one of the 2 part series is out today.👍 if you like if, 👎 if you dislike it.

  • Well Done (+2) 1

don't drive like its your last one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Looper said:


Part one of the 2 part series is out today.👍 if you like if, 👎 if you dislike it.

Wow beautiful video .. either your editing is super cool or it really was a nice part of the drive we did 🤣🤣🤣 it seems super cool, didn’t realize it while leading it 😀. Thanks @Looper

  • Like (+1) 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of use