Morning Fewbie Plus Exploration Drive (#F2F2) - Mahrani Loop - Sharjah - 15 Oct 2023

[Looper]

DRIVE PLAN

This Sunday, we will explore one more area in the series of exploratory drives started last week. Let's meet opposite the 2nd December Cafe to explore the Mahrani and Al Sadiah areas in Sharjah ex-Faya and its exit routes. You have to take a long "U Turn" down 2nd Dec Cafe. I haven't been here in ages, so it is going to be true exploration. Expect to find a lot of vegetation but also some of the nicest dunes if my memory serves me well. We will end our drive where we started so at least the exit is quick.

We request every member that joins this drive to go through the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities. 

MUST READ AND COMPLY

• Environmental Policy
• Offroad Flag Guideline
• Two Way Radio Guideline
• Off road Driving Etiquettes
• Emergency details for all off roaders
• Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities

DRIVE DETAILS

Level:  Fewbie Plus and above
When: 15 October 2023, Sunday
Meeting time:  6:00 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions)
Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tmFe1pJj3KLbgf5z7
Approximate finish time: 10:00 AM
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, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn.

RECOMENDED OFF-ROAD GEAR:

• Tire deflator & Tire pressure gauge
• Compressor (MANDATORY)
• Walkie-talkie radio (MANDATORY)
• Off-road flag (MANDATORY)
• Shovel, Tow Rope & 2 Shackles
• First-aid kit
• Fire extinguisher

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE

• This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 12 PM.
• If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list.
• RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list.
• Latecomers will be returned - Without any exceptions.
• Members without RSVP will be returned - 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 CALENDAR

 

[Gaurav]

Nice exploration of this beautiful terrain with a very tricky dune structure.

I remember in the same area, opp 2nd Dec, while rescuing one car on slip face which was about to hit the dead tree. I winched that dead tree and the tree rolled back straight to my car, leaving numerous scars on my 1 month old paint job. 

 

[Sreenath G]

8 hours ago, Looper said:

DRIVE PLAN

This Sunday, we will explore one more area in the series of exploratory drives started last week. Let's meet opposite the 2nd December Cafe to explore the Mahrani and Al Sadiah areas in Sharjah ex-Faya and its exit routes. You have to take a long "U Turn" down 2nd Dec Cafe. I haven't been here in ages, so it is going to be true exploration. Expect to find a lot of vegetation but also some of the nicest dunes if my memory serves me well. We will end our drive where we started so at least the exit is quick.

We request every member that joins this drive to go through the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities. 

MUST READ AND COMPLY

• Environmental Policy
• Offroad Flag Guideline
• Two Way Radio Guideline
• Off road Driving Etiquettes
• Emergency details for all off roaders
• Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities

DRIVE DETAILS

Level:  Fewbie Plus and above
When: 15 October 2023, Sunday
Meeting time:  6:00 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions)
Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tmFe1pJj3KLbgf5z7
Approximate finish time: 10:00 AM
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, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn.

RECOMENDED OFF-ROAD GEAR:

• Tire deflator & Tire pressure gauge
• Compressor (MANDATORY)
• Walkie-talkie radio (MANDATORY)
• Off-road flag (MANDATORY)
• Shovel, Tow Rope & 2 Shackles
• First-aid kit
• Fire extinguisher

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE

• This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 12 PM.
• If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list.
• RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list.
• Latecomers will be returned - Without any exceptions.
• Members without RSVP will be returned - 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 CALENDAR

 

I wish I could experience it soon. Am I eligible to apply now for promotion.? 

[Looper]

Looking back, I drove through this area a couple of times in FB+ convoys. In those days there were no fences so this area rather than being a destination was only in the way. 

The first time I was here, we started at 2nd December Cafe and found our way to Faya and played on the top of those dunes. It was Jan 2021. In that drive I was in second lead and had the most fun being where I was. I drove topless too. I also just realized we were supposed to go to Iftar Bowl, but we went the other side to Faya. Since that time, I had no idea 😭. TLDR the drive post. I only played fastest finger first.

The next time I drove there, we started on the wrong side of Mahafiz trees and explored the area Mahafiz side and Faya Side of the area and we kept near to the Faya Road. It was a 14-car long convoy, so you can guess how exciting it was. By this time, I was a support team member, and I was at the back in sweep. It was a very technical drive with a lot of bushes all along. The drive ended at the under-construction cycle track of Faya at that time. Now they have completely barricaded the exit to Faya Road.

[Gok Krish]

@Looper bro, signing out - adding strength to @Asif Hussain bhai drive in Sweihan... Catch u soon...

[Imteeaz]

@Looper apologies mate.

finally managed to get an appointment with a doctor tomorrow.

will need to opt out of this drive.

thnks

[Looper]

Please see below the convoy order for tomorrow morning. We will be on channel 2.

[Charbel]

sorry @Looper have an emergency can't make it tomorrow. see you guys next time

[Looper]

Drive Report

It was a mixed bag of a drive. The drive as an exploration came true in its character and it was a bouquet of many surprises. The driving character took many twists and turns and surprised us all, not necessarily in all good throughout the drive.

The beginning (green area): It was the only section that had the features of a Fewbie+ drive. The dunes were tall and soft. I wanted sooo... much to play in that area but because I knew we had a long drive ahead of us i kept moving from there. In hindsight we should have played there more. In this area we had a couple of refusals, one where we had to tug and the other where we could self-recover easily.

The Mid (blue area): this section was giving the old Mahafiz vibes though out the section. At the begining we moved swiftly with many twists and turns, driving like stokes of brush on a canvas. We took a break at the jungle made of roughly 50 trees. It was the first time i was there and loved the area plus the temps were still under 30s, so it was a pleasant stoppage. Then we passed though some very tall dunes on one side and steep descent and sabkha on the other. This one was a Fewbie level track that I would love to revisit. I am sure a FB convoy will love this area.

The end (yellow area): then began the quest to find some sand and a constant drive though all the trails. We kept driving though this area trying to find some sand, any sand but kept finding only bushes. It bore marks of a glorious past with the off roaders but as most deserts in UAE, it bloomed with evergreen vegetation. Greenery is the default state of the deserts, something that anyone can expect. I would totally avoid this area as an unnecessary venture into pasturelands. While I wanted to bring the convoy back to where we started, we ended early not wasting time anymore.

Thank you all for participating in this drive, @Juan R, @Deepak Eswar, @Andrei S, @Anoop Nair, @Mahmoud Taha, @Jaro Tuzinsky

[Juan R]

Thanks for the drive @Looper.  It was not nice to explore all the different terrains all in one drive