Leaderboard

Dear Desertanuts. A few more info on tomorrow's drive. We will be meeting next to one of Murqaab's mosques, very near the exit from the highway. As you reach the meeting point, you may start deflating (my suggestion, due to the increasing heat, is to go for 12 PSI), and tune into Carnity Channel #3 (446.056). There are a few gas stations on the way to Murqaab, after the turnoff from E311, where you may top up your tank. The drive is essentially broken into 2 parts:. The first will be on Murqaab's tall yellow sand dunes, with plenty of space between the cordons, some long drops on either sides, and occasional patches of soft sand. We will roam this area to enjoy its high dunes, using our climbing skills, some straight crossing, but mostly looking for a gentle way around the cordons. We'll eventually reach a sabkha (broad, flat, hard. surface) which will lead us to The Highway. This is a sand track often beaten flat, and marked by metal poles, which crosses the more difficult technical area separating Murquaab from Margham and Lisaili. Having driven on the Highway to the Sun, we'll enter the white sand dunes of Lisaili. These are somewhat lower, as individual dunes, yet may be sharper on the crests, more difficult to read (due to refraction of the sun light), and a little tighter between the cordons, which occasionally form strings of sand bowls that we'll have to navigate, with good pace and convoy discipline. Out aim is to reach as close as possible to Solar Park, before exiting. The convoy order will be the following: @Lakshmi Narasimhan in Second Lead @Gregory at #3 @ARAGON as #4 @Ranjan Pattanaik will be #5 @Pmaraziti at #6 @Russ is going to be #7 @Mehmet Volga will anchor the convoy's center @Warren Flay in the #9 place @JeromeFJ as #10 @Roger K is going to wear #11 @WaYan at #12 @Chris Wing #13 @TT_Dubai will be #14, and @Shaaz Sha will Sweep the group to safety. Bring all your skills, concentration, and explorer's spirit to the drive. We'll drive with the sun warming our back, to enjoy this first Friday of Ramadan. Have a great end of the week.

😃 Same was with me too. I heard this technical dune word so many times I was wondering what are these people talking about. As it is all dune tackling demands so many technical aspects. You have to have proper momentum, proper approach angle, proper exit point all worked out even before you start climbing the dune. Now as Richard @Wrangeld & @Ale Vallecchi has defined them and is very clear even though I had almost figured out the meaning of that word from the many drives I have done. Yes negotiating a cluster of small dunes need your whole attention as much as climbing a very high dune as its very usual to get an inexperienced driver to get stuck in those tight pockets these small dunes pose. Climbing a high dune also is technical. If you don't have the proper momentum and steering control we will start to fight gravity resulting in the rear end of the car swaying in all directions which is called fish tailing. That is not good. The end result is you will have a roll over. In the desert sands you cannot have 1 moment of distraction which I found out painfully when my glove box popped open spilling out all the contents inside taking my attention away from the tracks ahead and losing momentum and steering control which ended in me losing tracks and I ended up at the wrong side of the dune. After the incident @Ale Vallecchireprimanded for losing my attention. @ARAGON please note whatever happens inside the car during these moments it shouldn't distract you from the drive. I love to be driving with all the marshals because each one gives you a different lesson. I was waitlisted for this drive but withdrew as I understood no one is going to drop out and I will get a chance. Will see you soon in the sands. GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL.

Hi @Watteau @Ranjan Das @amir amiri @Javier Lucero @Arman, @Dodi Syahdar @Niki Patel, @varunmehndiratta We are starting for a new exciting drive tomorrow! Here the convoy list: We are going to use the Carnity channel 5 - 46288750 See you tomorrow all on the sand then!

@ARAGON you can be assured you are guided by one of the most experienced marshals of carnity during this drive. I liked the way you commented on panicking at 45 degree angle. Wait a little more and you will see all the angles your car can negotiate. I hope you have fixed the skid plates in the front, if not fix them as early as possible. The number of nose hits your car will take will not be pleasant for your car and eventually your wallet. Money & time doesn't matter as you are already bitten by the desert bug. How many meetings I have postponed or preponed or even cancelled to attend a drive God knows. Today being Thursday afternoon I already visited the garage to check the car under an OBD scanner for all fault codes if any, cleaned the air filter, checked the fluids and made sure my car is ready for tomorrow's drive even before I arrived at my office. All this because I have 2 drives this weekend. Please do this for your car too so that nobody is held up due to a mechanical fault during the drive. Its very important. Recovering a car from the middle of a desert is no easy task.

thank you @Wrangeld and @Ale Vallecchi for defining "technical dune" for me and probably many others like @Thomas Varghese, who i need to thank also for his guiding points..i can relate also to the "moment of distraction" and ending up on "wrong side of the dune ", which i also did when i experienced the first 45 degree incline with my car, and i panicked during the Ab Newbie ride. Like Richard @Wrangeldsaid during the briefing, we need to get used to the feeling of having our cars inclined at 45 degree , which i took some time to get accustomed to

Thank you @Ale Vallecchifor the detailed pre-trip report! I am in and got my car back yesterday from the workshop with a clean bill of health 🙂 Looking forward to the itinerary and to meet everyone again.

Dear Friends, Danish Mohammad @Danish Mohammad Ahmad Shaker @Ahmad Shaker Trekado @Trekado Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader Lawrence_Chehimi @Lawrence_Chehimi Kenneth Bollhardt @Kenneth Bollhardt N@ved @N@ved Sinol @Sinol Pacific @Pacific Jon M @Jon M Tamas Hoffmann @Tamas Hoffmann Craig Finlayson @Craig Finlayson Please note convoy numbering for the drive tonight Still awaiting confirmation from @Jon M and @Pacific @Tamas Hoffmann, @Craig Finlayson , @Jon M and myself will manage recoveries if any. We will use Radio Chanel 1 for communications Please bring spare torch for the drive ( not mandatory but for your ease in the dark) See you tonight

Hi Aragon, @ARAGON We delved into some technical dunes last week in our drive, so don't worry. You'll be fine and @Ale Vallecchi is a brilliant lead who will guide you through the dunes superbly, giving you great advice on the best way to approach this type of challenge.

To everyone, here the new convoy setup. See you all tomorrow!

nope @TT_Dubai..the new shape came in 2011 with AWD and 4 modes - Normal/Sand/Mud and Rut/Snow Each mode has different power splits between wheels, and am not sure whats the exact setting on each..basically you dont have much say in it , the computer does it based on wheel slip i think. you can watch whether each wheel is powered, through a display on your dash, real time i stop here, as its a digression from the topic 🙂

My very first car in the UAE was a Ford Explorer. Loved it. It was a 2007 but it did have 4LO and proper 4WD. Is that not the case with new Explorers now?

hi @Ranjan Pattanaik..my other car is a 2011 Ford explorer ...i can relate 🙂.. see you too 👍

Hi @Alphin Aloor @Thomas Varghese @William Fernandes and hopefully @Anish S I hope you can all make it tomorrow, otherwise our convoy might become to small, but looking at it now it looks like we might have a lot of fun with a small group. Anish will join us if his work schedule allows and then he will be leading part of the drive. Radio channel 2 See you soon

@ARAGON no worries, this is what we learn from our mistakes. I have Ford explorer which having AWD without low gear/difflock, i hope you can get more confident by looking at myside😁... see you on drive..

@ARAGON technical is defined as smaller, tightly packed dunes with a likelihood of very soft sand in the small bowls that form underneath. In general these need much better control and finesse of your steering and accelerator control. Getting through technical dunes needs your focus to find or follow the line carefully and without deviation because a small error will result in a more difficult recovery because there is little room for ropes (for instance).

@ARAGON we call "technical dunes" a set of tight dunes (close to each other), with steps in between, or small pockets, which give little room to maneuver, and require very good control of the car. These are places where cars proceed at quite a slow pace, will need to reduce their speed almost to zero while negotiating a step, and apply short bursts of acceleration to climb out of pockets or over steps. Longer and/or heavier cars may have more problems negotiating these areas, due to their reduces maneuverability, while less powerful cars may struggle getting our of pockets or climbing soft slip faces.

Thanks @Russ for reminding me. Find below, and in the drive's announcements. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Q6UskoSE7r5b84EJ9

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for the drive description with convoy positioning.... and a shout of "hi" to all other fellow riders. Looking forward to the drive as this is going to be my second ride after the absolute newbie ride last week with @Wrangeld hope i can tackle the "technical" areas detailed by @Ale Vallecchi fingers crossed 🙂🤞🤞

Great leads, long convoy, more fun, more challenge, more thrill, more to learn! what else to ask for!!!

Nice big group for tomorrow! Can’t wait👍🏼😬

Dear Desertnauts. Last minute warning Mu phone's screen died just a few minutes ago, and I do not have any substitute cell at hand. Therefore, for any urgent or last minute news, please write it here, and @Mehmet Volga, the other Senior in the drive, will be able to see it and relay it to me. See you tomorrow morning. Have a good rest.

RSVP will now be closed off. Attendees @Desert Wrangler @aaron kamall @Ahmed Mostafa @Trent @Monney Singh @Anish Varghese @Nafly Azhar Manage Frederic sertac See you guys tomorrow morning sharp 06:00AM at the meeting point. Please park the cars at some distance from each other and wear your mask at all times when you are out of the car during deflation or inflation. @sertac and myself will be guiding you throughout the drive and we will definitely have fun and learn ! If you have off-road equipment please bring it along. We will be providing a spare radio to the members that do not have one yet, from the second drive onwards you’ll need to procure a radio, flag, shovel, and pressure gauge as basic tools. In case of emergency my mobile no. Is 056 504 26 32. PS radio channel will be 446.00625 MHz (Carnity channel 1).

Once you complete couple more drives you will get used to it. When you go to Fossil rock and faya 45’ incline will be nothing. You are in safe hands of the Marshalls, when they go thru, you can blindly follow. Only thing you need to know the correct momentum needed for crossing the dune, patch.

Drive RSVP is now closed. Please find below the convoy order. We will be using radio channel 4 (446.081.25) 1 Brette Marshal JGC Lead 2 @luis mantecon Newbie WR 2nd Lead 3 @Ishraque Ahammed Newbie Explorer 4 @Fabien Monleau Newbie LC 5 @Chinthaka Ruwan Newbie X 6 @Mukundan Nair Intermediate X CF 7 @Miguel Codes Newbie WR 8 @Daniel Rodas Newbie RAM 9 @Vanessa8580 Marshal Pajero Sweep A reminder to go through the tutorial videos and make sure your cars front and rear tow hooks are in order. Hope all of you also have the required gear for the newbie level drives (Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor). See you all tomorrow morning at 6am ...

@Lucas Neoapologies for the delay in response. Deserts of Sweihan are very famous amongst the off-roading circuit and is known as Little Liwa purely due to the size of dunes and the type of dune formation. Driving in the day light for Newbies, itself can be challenging and can cause an adrenaline rush that those who have experienced can easily vouch. We would be attempting to do the same at night. So double the challenge and double the fun. We are going to be faced with huge walls of sand with soft sand in patches and so like in the MI series, the challenge, should you Lucas choose to accept, is to find our way between the massive dunes of Sweihan with nothing but the bright beams of our headlights and the cool breeze of the night. Good luck. Convoy Numbering : 1. Srikumar - XJ 2. Xavier - Xterra @Xavier Treasurer 3. Lucas - Wrangler @Lucas Neo 4. Farouq - JGC @Farouq Owdeh 5. Mustafa - Pajero @Mus_hus78 6. Hasan - LC @Hasan Wahlan 7. Ruan - Wrangler @Ruan van den Heever 8. Vinod - Xterra @Tbone Further, I wish to strongly emphasis the COVID9 guidelines of the club. Please step out only for deflating your tyres (with face mass on) and once done get back into your cars. Park your cars at sufficient distance from each other. The meeting point has been updated on the drive post. See you there at 9:30 PM.

Good morning Chaitanya, I would love to join your group. Let me know if there is any possibility and certainly include me on the waiting list. Best, Pierre

Thank You @Ale Vallecchi for the details description. Its good to get all the information prior to drive which you provided well. It will be fun to drive with long convoy and will get lot of guidance and information from every individual. Its only few hrs to see you all..

@ARAGON as @Wrangeldmentioned theres nothing to worry if we follow the instruction/guidance provided during brief and every now and then during the drive by @Ale Vallecchiand with your full concentration and following the tracks of the person in the front. Sure you will enjoy the drive!!!

Hi @Ale Vallecchi will you post a google maps link for the meet point or advise what to put in the search so I don’t get lost! Thanks and looking forward to the drive!

@Jon M you are next on WL, do you want to confirm joining? Noted with thanks please remove RSVP

sure @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader see you soon! sure @Danish Mohammad see you soon! Hi @varunmehndiratta I am going to add you to the drive. Pls confirm.

Carnity management will be closing down additional comments on this drive after this post. We appreciate and acknowledge that the drivers now fully understand that individual behavior demonstrated could have been better, and fell outside the published COVID19 precautions. These rules, which have been agreed by all drivers, make it clear that there is an individual responsibility to comply and it appears that in this case, a number of drivers acknowledge they may well have lack to fully comply. There are no provisions in the published Carnity COVID19 precautions for the drive lead to assume responsibility for the behavior of individual drivers. Currently, no one has been banned, including Rahimdad. We do feel, however, that based on the above, drivers are now on notice that further infractions of the COVID19 precautions rules will result in an "individual ban" from future drives.

How that comes? What happened? 😳😳

No @TT_Dubai, new one having terrain management system including sand mode, rock, snow and descent. No 4LO 🤣 but i had before Explorer 2014 XLT but now its sports one which having little better torque & HP. If stock then reminding me 4LO...see u tomorrow morning.

Dear Friends , Morshedi @Morshedi Badar Tariq @Badar Tariq Alain Canivet-Abikhalil @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil Darren Brooke @Darren Brooke stavros papachristos @stavros papachristos Niekku @Niekku soumyasaklani @Soumya Saklani GauravSoni @Gaurav Soni Lakshmi Narasimhan @Lakshmi Narasimhan Ahmed Mostafa @Ahmed Mostafa Please note convoy positions for tomorrow We will use Radio Chanel 1 for communications Richard @Wrangeld, Marjan @Jeepie , @GauravSoni and myself will manage recoveries if any. Kindly arrive in time and deflate to 15 Psi for regular tires and 12 psi if you have all terrain AT tires. Please remember to bring in your mandatory gears (Shovel, programmed radio, Deflator, compressor and off road flag) without which you will not be allowed to drive. Torch for yourself is preferable for ease of use in the dark. Kindly sign out and tag me if you are unable to make it as we have two members on waitlist ( @SyedObaid and @Pierre de Maigret), who should not miss out which will be a shame. We appreciate you as much involving and informing , for me/us to make the whole process easier as we are volunteering for this drive to arrange and lead. I wish to remind the COVID9 guidelines of the club. Please step out only for deflating your tires (with face masks on) and once done get back into your cars. Park your cars at sufficient distance from each other. Myself and support members will watch for any violations which will invite a ban from the club. See you tomorrow night

Yes please add me

Hey @Lorenzo Candelpergher yes i will join! Thanks @varunmehndiratta

I look forward to tomorrow @Jeepie cheers

Thank you @Jeepie. I will be there.

Dear @varunmehndiratta, if you think you are not going to make it, I suggest you drop out and let @Gaurav Soni, the first waitlisted, join the drive.

Then @Chaitanya D can help you

Thank you Lakshmi, but it is still indicating that the limit has been reached.

thank you @Lakshmi Narasimhan and will surely follow guidelines and instructions,

Thanks @Wrangeld, that gives me some confidence 🙂 Although i keep seeing the word "technical" in lot of posts here at Carnity (trying to read as much as posts, drive reports etc to gain more insights and to learn from others' experiences) , i was not exactly sure what it means, and i am still not ... Looking forward to learn from the senior stalwarts joining us newbies

Hi @Luca Palanca Falsini Please remove me from waitlist of Saturday drive as I got official work to complete on same day. Will try to see you in next drive. Thank you ...

@Rahimdad, we apologize for this, we will make sure this never repeats again. Hope to see you soon in sands leading us.

@Pierre de Maigretspots are available and no waiting list, you can rsvp now. See you soon.

@RahimdadThank you. I will be joining the drive tomorrow.

Thank you @Rawad Bahsas for the mighty clip, and @Lakshmi Narasimhan who put it so well into words. After seeing this clip Christopher Reeve will be turning in his grave, while Charlie Chaplin will be laughing in his grave. BTW thank you for everyone's patience and concern. The job cost me a total of AED 135. It was a bust rubber stopper which was the guilty party and cost me AED 30 for the part and labour. The Toyota coolant which cost me AED 105/-. All fixed and ready to take on more challenges and improve my learning with you all.