Morning Fewbie Plus Desert Drive - Faqa'a Done Right (2nd Edition) - Abu Dhabi - 13 Apr 2024

[Looper]

DRIVE PLAN

After a wonderful drive we did in February, let's go for one more round in and around Faqa'a. The drive plan is similar to what we did last time, but will last slightly longer time than we did previously. We will meet at a slightly distance place to start to drive, but we save ourselves the hardship of driving though all the bushes. From our favorite playground at Faqa'a we will go towards Little Swihan and end our Drive at Solar Park ~ 10:00 am or so.

 

GENERAL OVERVIEW

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: 13 April 2023, Saturdat
Meeting time:  6:45 AM - Sharp (we will start the drive at 7:00)
Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/c7csDnXfSSVzZzgz9
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.
• 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

 

[Looper]

Thank you all for joining the drive. 

I am currently travelling and WILL BE BACK tonight.

We will use ch 2 for the drive and leave at sharp 7:00 am if not early. Following will be the convoy order. 

[Shiju Raju]

Sorry, I am unable to join tomorrow. Please excuse

[Gertjan]

Sorry, team, will not be able to join. Please excuse me. Enjoy the trip!

[Benjamin]

@Looper I’m sorry mate I can’t make it 

I noticed the engine temp started getting very hot I’m leaking coolant. Will have to call off. I deeply apologize was looking forward to meeting everyone  

[msa]

@Looper extremely sorry I cannot make it today. I woke up with a very bad Sinus.

[Luke K P]

Thanks for the fun drive yesterday everyone. 

Was glad the heat didn't rise to much and we could enjoy smooth flowing dunes. We made around 75km across big dunes, technical dunes, long range dunes, and some sabkhas.

I have the average moving speed at 33.4 kph @Looper, so I think the high speed on the sabkhas helped move it higher 😅

See you all again sometime soon.

[Looper]

I travelled back to Dubai and landed at mid night and barely had 3 hours of sleep. But the love for dunes pulls me towards deserts. The initial section was a bit underwhelming for me, I wont lie - doing the same thing again in such a short time - I guess the wow factor was going to be missing a bit, but I think we more than compensated with a run across the dunes thereafter. Even during the technical patches between the Sabkhas we kept a fantastic pace. It was great to see so many of you showing up for the second instalment hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. The sand however was very bright in the eyes and I wasn't able to figure out the terrain much, even dark glasses did not help - yet the drive was lot less bumpy than previous.

Thanks @Varun Mehndiratta for being part of the drive, your presence gave me peace of mind that even if I fail to join this drive - you would have taken over. @Ranjan Das & @Imteeaz thanks you both of you Support Team members for your help and well support. @Batuhan Kulac, @Ishak and @Luke K P see you once again for the drive. @Juan R see you once again after a long while. 

@Benjamin sorry to miss you. Been there done that, hope you have already fixed the issue. @msa, @Gertjan & @Shiju Raju hope to see you guys next time.