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Thanks everyone for wonderful drive today, we were really blessed with a great convoy strength and cars to really had such an amazing drive with bare minimum interruptions or delays. Apologies for not reaching, showing and highlighting the Pac-Man as that area is now being fenced with a dual layer of fencing. Internal (immediately next to pac-man, visible on sat maps) and external (not spotted on sat map, yet) that spans across 40-50 km. I believe its a new fence laid by Marmum dairy to protect the soil of crop/grass circle (animal feed) or plan to put more grass circles around. I hope people who have exited towards Sweihan side must have seen Marmum dairy on left hand side of Tarmac and just after that dairy there is two HUGE green patch of grass in circle shape is the Pac-Man area. Anyways, plan B always work in such situations and why wouldn't when we are in AD, where dunes are so welcoming that any plan will seem good plan in those amazing, clean, tall dunes. Everyone kept a good pace and rhythm to cover almost 50 kms in 3 hours in such amazing virgin dunes and we all managed to explore a wonderful new area for future drives - greater good. @Warren Flay you were absolutely amazing in second lead and while reading your above comment I was laughing that many will value the churned up sand, cross track, struggle and fight more than second lead. Its good to have all-round experience and Im glad you've enjoyed the newly tested SL position. Thanks for being very responsible second lead today. @S Jacob as I havent heard anything from you during the whole drive means you were simply amazing too and had a good time. @John Vanderbleek heartiest congratulations on seeing AD yummiest dunes on your very first fewbie drive. Although at few places it was tad above fewbie level, but you did great. That's how slowly and gently we keep pushing the level to test the drivers ability, sometimes I do it on purpose but today was totally situational. Very minor refusal you had that's part and parcel of this game and you shouldn't worry at all about them. You have a wonderful FJC, keep enjoying the drive, nature and your car. @Damien Ranjit you've taken this shape Pathfinder to great heights and I have seen your amazing drive at Iftar bowl too few weeks back. You just need to practice on self-recovery skills as controlling the gas pedal when you are stuck is the biggest job that will get you out faster. Secondly while someone is preparing for a tug, you ALWAYS need to make sure that you are in right gearing. You could've blown your transmission today while in D when Aisha was recovering you from the back. @munkybizness Mr. Yokohama supporter driving Geo's today as I haven't heard any refusal or stuck means you've been in complete sync with your beast (I mean Patrol). Nice to see your father on drive today, who is as cool as you when it comes to such sporting activity. @Christian Andras it was so good to see you today, after a very long time and that too with your boys to help you deflate, put-up flag and recover. Perfect father-son bonding activity. Hope they have enjoyed today and feeling fine after hitting the tarmac. You've been an amazing center support today considering that we are so tight in the morning. And my apology once again to not to give your rope chance to pull me, after so hard maneuver you did to position yourself. Now you believe too that my Pajero has soul, lolol. I rem something very similar happened last year with @Tbone. I was crested with all 3 wheels spinning, he positioned himself for recovery and soon before he can pull, rear diff-lock did some magic and I was out without a tug. @ShereenMK I see you enjoying LC100 it reminds me of my days when I had the same car. Difference was I never manage to learn how to drive off-road properly on that car and you've manage to do that and lot more perfectly. Hope your LC was smiling today that even after you challenge her to get stuck, she didn't gave you any chance and you manage the whole drive with zero stuck. Well done. @Santoso Marjuki it's been third drive so far with me and you are getting better after every drive, except the lesson - to not to fight the gravity. Maybe in your next drive you pay close attention to all other drivers doing the sidey, long slopes etc. before you to see how they manage their vehicle after the U-Turn or when momentum fades off - Steer down, steer down, steer down without a question and irrespective if you have 200 hp or 300 hp car. As a law of physics no one can fight gravity without momentum, so when gravity pulls you down, instead of fighting, we simply surrender and point our car nose down towards the gravity and come down slowly. You have a beautiful car and you know how to off-road safely, so just work on this issue with greater presence of mind, focus and attention to detail. @Josh T. its always pleasure to see you on any drive. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE your attitude and mindset toward offroading is to enjoy the nature, drive and meet new people - way to go. I keep on telling everyone that instead of racing through the number of drives to seek quick promotion ENJOY THE JOURNEY. And that's what I always see with your positive attitude and approach. Thanks for welcoming Dubai members to Abu Dhabi and enjoying the drive as one big family beyond any borders @Aisha S its the first we drove together and I must say I was impressed with your driving, confidence and steering control on tall climbs. You've been fantastic today with all the banter and keeping an entertaining company. Enjoy your next 3 drives. @Arman Thanks for wonderful sweep duties today, hope you have enjoyed the cross tracks and struggle more and it offered you a good breather from your regular convoy position. As always you've been fantastic and good support buddy. Have a nice weekend, see you all soon again.

Ahhhhh Abu Dhabi😍 What can you say about towering golden dunes bereft of litter and broken down Toyotas? "Heaven on Earth", thats what I would say. What a fabulous drive@Gaurav! you could run that every week and I'd happily join. It could only be better if it ended at the Qasr al Sarab for a cold beer and a swim I reckon. A hearty crew set off on time with a virgin second lead sheepishly following Gaurav and wondering how life would look at the front of the convoy (rather than at number 9 where it looks rather like a furrowed field) The answer was? Stunning, it looked absolutely stunning. I had the easiest run ever at second lead and didn't really have to lift a finger... Why? the drive was well planned, well executed and well supported by a great team with super team spirit and a can-do attitude. Lots of refusals and some stucks were dealt with promptly and with great commitment, I congratulate you all. I thoroughly enjoyed my morning and look foward to repeating it and completing the original plan. See you again soon.

From the flavorful radio bursts to that flitty feeling in the stomach ascending & descending, this was a drive to remember. And do over, and over again. Thank you @Gauravand the entire convoy for making this such a great day out. So anxious was I for this drive, that I fast-tracked changing to A/T tyres this week even if I will be away from action for the next few weeks. And they delivered over and over again. Sitting at P6, meant I had the best of both worlds - the good fortune to not have to deal with too much churn, and to be able to see the beauty of our convoy channeling its way through these sands. In terms of statistics, the numbers confirm how much bigger these dunes are. And we still had more ground to cover. Throughout the drive, we were 200m above sea level. Towards the end, we scaled 300 - a sign of the climbs to come Once again, thank you @Warren Flayfor playing an excellent SL even though, between yourself @Gaurav and @S Jacob, and your SWB Pocket Rockets, I had to re-check my approach angles a few times and not get caught up in the excitement of where my car (and my passenger) shouldn't go. Thank you @Christian Andras for giving me the confidence that if I did get stuck, I had support right where I needed it. And so cool to see your boys out. Having my dad with me on the drive today, showed me the power of the memories you're inscribing into their consciousness. @Josh T. - we may not have talked today but I heard your Shaheen roar. We're coming to Abu Dhabi more often, and you're going to help announce our arrival with what's under that hood, with every bowl we pounce upon @Aisha S - what you lack in your taste of football clubs, you made up for in the energetic radio comms and your drive. Seeing you scale that dune towards the end was sheer joy! @Damien Ranjit - when I caught those Hulk-green springs peeking out from your tirewell this morning, I knew I would see a new side to your drive. The aggression today in some sections was amazing @ShereenMK - my first drive ever offroad was in an LC100 which looked exactly like yours. Seeing you on some crests in my rearview was such a nice trip down to nostalgia. @Santoso Marjuki - welcome to Fewbie I too sometimes get caught up with what I think my car should be able to do and it conflicts with what the sands are telling me. Gravity is a better voice to listen to. I'm learning to pay more heed to it too. @John Vanderbleek - please don't get concerned about getting stuck. I think the general rule is that if you're not getting stuck, you're not trying hard enough. And. you did really well. You were setting up the best approach angles for me and Damien to follow with LWBs. In a sense, you were the Second Second Lead to LWBs And finally @Arman - thank you for keeping our end tight 🙏 Thank you all, thank you Abu Dhabi, thank you cooler weather, and thank you @Gaurav See you all out on the sands again soon!

Post Drive Report Small but beautifully formed - that's my conclusion on today's convoy. A great group, driving in harmony reaching impressive heights of technical knowledge and capability. As it turned out this was pretty much a discovery drive. Exploration in the desert is something we should do much more regularly - but we rarely get the opportunity and I am grateful to all of you for sticking with what ever the drive had to offer from start to finish. With great support from @marks @M.Seidam and @Niki I knew that what ever the drive threw at us could be managed and in truth any issues were dealt with so quickly that the convoy of @Anoop Nair @Sunil Mathew @Adhir Saxena & @Rawadbarely stopped for breath through the whole drive. It was so soft in places that it was hard to believe, and quite honestly, the conditions for what was advertised as a Fewbie Plus were at the higher limit of that rank. We rode ridges, crossed dunes and navigated some technical sections, slide sloped and crossed sabkahs. Highlights for me? In no particular order I am really pleased that we took the difficult route back into Solar Park. Most drives would take the dirt track all the way back to the end point. The problem with that is it's tedious and if you're a following car you are driving in very fine dust for kilometers. It was not an/the easy choice and was in my view, the right one. Virgin sand. So much of the route today was on completely virgin sand. In anywhere near to Qudra that's quite unusual. Perhaps it's not the same at the back of the convoy as at the front, but the fact that we explored meant that the sand was pretty much clean as we got there. Freedom close to the AD border. With the borders having come down, the fear of a massive fine is lower now. While we did not get anywhere close to the restricted area, the fact we could roam was a nice change. \ The teamwork, spirit and discipline - especially @M.Seidam guiding everyone out individually from the soft sand bowls and @marks and @M.Seidam guiding me on the cross over where I was not 100% sure about which way to turn. So, thanks to all. I enjoyed the drive, enjoyed your company (OK- there was a lot of radio quiet time; which I always regard as very positive) and your skill and attention. Hope to see you soon in the sand.

Pre-drive details below: 1- Weather is getting better and hopefully we will enjoy nice early morning breeze for at least the 1st hour or so. Please be on time and bring all your passion for off-roading and pull as much as you can of yourself out of bed. This terrain specially after today's sand storm is full of surprises and demands to be respected with full focus. 2- Be at the meeting point by 6:00am (or before) and be ready to move max by 6:15am (deflated, flag erected, 4H on, radio on and set, airbags/traction/abs all set....) 3- Please ensure your radio is on, fully charged, and set to the right frequency: channel 2 (446,031.25) upon arrival to do a quick radio check 4- Quick briefing will be done on on the sand before we start moving 5- please ensure you come with a full tank (as much as possible) in addition to all necessary gear for this drive level Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/U1BncNak2mMf2dfs6 See you all on the sand 😎 Convoy order:

Big shout out and thankyou to @Frederic & @Alex Raptor for a great drive learnt loads as usual, was a pleasure to follow @Alex Raptor as this really helped with the learning piece as well as yours Freddies and Islams patience with us newbies. A Special thanks to @Islam Solimanfor his leadership and guidance on the drive you got us all home safely and with big smiles on our faces through so challenging terrain. .. and once again congratulations on your promotion to Marshal well deserved look forward to participating in some of your future drives. Great to meet a lot of new folks as well so a bit thankyou to all the newbies as well for making it a great morning out. Thanks again Davie

Solar Orbit - Intermediate Drive Report Limp along until your legs are spent, and you fall flat and your energy is drained. Then the grace of the Divine will lift you" - Rumi As expected, perhaps even as planned, we did drive long, we did drive hard (not only, occasionally, with speed, but also with determination and endurance), and we did drive steadfastly. Sir Winston Churchill would have been proud of us. The tribulations mentioned in the drive's brief, actually materialized only in the form of a pop-out (quickly fixed), a broken bumper (promptly removed), and a rear shock's spring ... springing out of the car (needing a lengthy temporary repair and early exit). Other than that, the drive was perfectly executed by the whole convoy., including all the new Intermediates, who managed just as well as the veterans. The circumnavigation of Solar Park started, with the blessing of a spectacular sunrise, in the direction of the south-western dunes of Lisaili, across its sabkhas, to Murqab's bushy tall dunes. The time needed to reach Lisaili first and Murqab second was a stunningly fast 1:20 hr, with virtually no stops, and a lot of concentrated radio silence, as we crossed the mostly technical dunes which skirt the innermost parts of Lisaili, and the western reaches of Murqab. The first stop brought with it a small lapse in concentration (I noticed this often happens, if the break lasts too long), which led to the pop-out (thankfully, a quickly solved one), and to the accidental detachment (and removal) of a rear bumper. Both incidents were solved with total 19 minutes of work. The last, and less common, predicament was that of a spring coming literally off the right back shock of @Amir Amiri's truck, probably due to an excessive torsion while criss-crossing the last dunes before reaching Faqa's sabkha. @Rob H, with the assistance of @GauravSoni, came through with a brilliant repair, which allowed the big truck to get back in action within the next half hour, and then reach the tarmac bordering the sabkha, for its safe exit. The drive proceeded to cross, again uneventfully and in just 1:10 hour, a stretch of closed, soft dunes, nested between Faqa's sabkha to the south, and "The Chimney" to the north (actually a solar tower, in the latest development of Solar Park). Having completed the southernmost side of the orbit in good time, we moved north, through that set of tall, long, and quite bushy dunes, better known as "The Middle Earth", from which we managed to exit, tired but unscathed, just next to Solar Park's glass spire. With a total of 104 Km covered, in 4:18 hrs of driving time (with just 1 hour of additional mechanical breaks), at an average moving speed of 24 km/h, the convoy, assisted by @Ranjan Das in Second Lead, @GauravSoni as Anchor, and @Rob H in Sweep, and composed of @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil, @Chinthaka Ruwan and @Humayun Ghias (all 3 debuting at Intermediate), as well as @Looper, @Matt.T, @Russ and @Amir Amiri (BTW, how is yiur truck doing?), earned their wings as Long Range Desert Group troopers. Looking forward to seeing you all again in another sandy adventure. Enjoy the weekend ahead.

Dear All, A revised convoy for Saturday morning.A few people changed around. See you @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Mohammed Mansoor @kiranshinde @eldose baby @GratefulKRD @Johannes Roux @Alex Raptor @Rsjiv Samuel @Joji varghese @hasan hamadeh @Alphin Aloor @Zixuan Huang - Charlie @Sunil Mathew @darren thompson See you all at 6am. Nice surprise awaits tomorrow. I see I did not put the correct rank for @Alex Raptor and @Johannes Roux. You can berate me in the morning. Alex will be supporting.

Another bucket of drivers perfectly selected to start a weekend just before a relentless desert storm! Being full of sand from bottom to top and feeling a sweet tiredness when you are back home. That's what to expect and we had it! We started like we are having a light dinner with red wine and a beautiful woman sitting in front. Even the wind was blowing cool so I felt sleepy while the sun rising ahead. So decided to speed up as we quickly reached the big dunes behind the Ritchie's bar and did four big loops there with non-stop side-sloping and ridge-riding. But my radio was still so silent while eleven monsters chewing the sand on my mirror without hesitation. After the 5th loop still in silence, I decided to call the Great Spirit of technical dunes to come and help our poor convoy which is only having speed on the dunes without struggling. He heard my call and immediately came to help but I think he took it a bit serious. Started with an innocent crest but immediately turned in a crazy sand party - ropes, shovels, winches flew around like the clashing swords! I tried to explain the Great Spirit that this might be enough for today, but he took it wrong and made me stuck for two successive times while tugging the others! At the end, we had overtime in the sand but met the other cluster of big dunes on the way out and said them goodbye with some speedy side-slopes anyway. Apart from fun (yes, being stuck is also 'fun' part of our game), it was a good educational trip for off-roading with many examples on tugging, positioning, winching, self-recovering, reattempting, advising, helping... Amazing 2nd lead by @Charbel ; carefully watched out the track and re-routed it whenever it was tricky. He had some issues with his 4L engaging which caused some stucks but then resolved after some fast loops. Great job! @Chris Wing brought his wings with him today! He successfully fixed our tail alone whenever it is broken and came to rescue when our head is in trouble in front. Well done! @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ lucky to have you today buddy! Thanks to you we had a great day at the end since it could have become a nightmare with such number of stucks. Hats out for your winching show recovering two cars at a time! @Naim Aoun excellent tugging me out with a perfectly fine-tuned power. Outstanding performance by @Daniel Yang @Gilbert Khalil @Christopher Assal @Rodi @Gregory and @Richard Franks in the both high-pace off-roading and dealing with terrible technical dunes. Almost no issues except some small refusals and reattempting. Bravo to all! Special callout to the man of the day @Alexander Holodny. Still cannot believe this was your first Fewbie! You and your Montero were unbelievable, showing off on my mirror with full stock of Fewbie movements. The fun has just started for you friend! Enjoy it! See you all on the sand soon!

Conquest of solar park Several times we either crossed it from or to Faqa in the past but never actually , for me , looped it the way we did today with Richard . What a conquest to version sand as no one was there before . I liked it a lot . with late two drop out left the convoy even more compact within a strong chain it’s front was our friend Richard @Wrangeld who lead us in an exploration mode that felt so exciting to all of us . Thank you Richard for this amazing day. There was no way to miss it 😄. @Niki finally we met and it was an absolute pleasure . Driving with you being our second lead was perfect . I will remember the few tricks in capturing clicks 😊 @Anoop Nair @Sunil Mathew and @Adhir Saxena I drove with you guys before and again today our quest was just great . @Rawad driving a beast at the back through all this churned soft sand and at times in super tight technical i rarely heard you on radio which says it all . Perfect and keep it up bro. @marks last time we were in area 53 and here we go another quest together in team Carnity . Thanks for watching our back and for all the help. I would say it felt different . Felt as if every one understood the game and the loop we did so nicely and with great spirit . cheers and wish you all great week ahead

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 Richard @Wrangeld for the new wonderful area for the drive. It was really free flowing except for some occasional stoppage which did not affect the fluency at all. Good mix of technical, crisscrossing and side slopping in the drive which made it really interesting. @Niki you as SL made it much easier to follow. thanks @M.Seidam @marksfor all support and advise. Good to see @Sunil Mathew @Adhir Saxena@Rawad again and hope to meet all of you in the sand very soon. After thought: Should have taken all the wires / cables we found there in the desert, with the current copper prices could have fetched a fortune😁

I don’t know what to say about the drive and AD dunes. Absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed every bit of it. (apart from that it ended too soon) As Sierra (Josh) said, it was very nice to see new faces as well. Looking forward to more drives in AD

Another excellent fast paced and challenging ride. Lots of fun and technical dunes. Thanks @Mehmet Volga for leading and @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQfor your assistance and quick response. Now I am sold; will get a winch for my Wrangler. Good to practice pulling out a stuck car and being pulled out. It is I guess part of the learning. Kudoes to @Alexandre for managing such a drive with the Montero! Impressive. See you all next time.

Good evening fellow adventurers, Tomorrow we meet at 3pm sharp. We will stagger the departure of both convoys so as to avoid congestion on the dunes. I, @Foxtrot Oscar , will lead Convoy 1 (one) will be using Radio ch. 2 My proposed convoy is as follows: Driver Car Rank Posit CONVOY 1 Radio Ch. 2 @Foxtrot Oscar Black Xterra Marshal Lead @PaoloMaraziti Beige FJ Fewbie + 2nd Lead @Bernard Kalaani Grey Wrangler Fewbie 3rd @Naim Aoun Grey Wrangler Fewbie 4th @Lawrence_Chehimi White Patrol Intermediate CF @JamesThorn Black Lexus Fewbie 6th @Kenneth Bollhardt White Prado Fewbie 7th @Stav Red Wrangler Fewbie 8th @Desert Dweller Red Wrangler Advisor Sweep Marjyan, @Jeepie, will lead Convoy 2 (two) and will be using Radio ch. 4 Convoy 2 is as follows: Driver Car Rank Position Convoy 2 RADIO Ch. 4 @Jeepie Green Wrangler Expert Lead @Pacific Wrangler Intermediate 2nd Lead @Enrico Biscaro White Pajero (SWB) Fewbie 3rd @Santoso Marjuki Blue Wrangler Fewbie 4th @Danish Mohammad White Pajero (SWB) Intermediate CF @munkybizness White Patrol Fewbie 6th @Gilbert Khalil Black FJ Fewbie 7th @Rawad Blue Patrol Fewbie + 8th @Janarthan Grey Xterra Expert Sweep See you all tomorrow 😎

Thanks for opening up slots @Wrangeld..see you tomorrow!!

@Brette thank you for the support and the amazing precaution and safety that was taken in consideration till the exit point, it was unfortunate but it was still worth learning something new yet again, and thank you all the convoy members for the patience and support till the end. Will see you guys soon. Until next time 🤙

Thanks everyone for today, it was a fun and challenging drive, a little bit of everything, can't believe how tight those wheel nuts were!!!! Well done, good comms, teamwork and some good recoveries where needed. Put some photos in the gallery as well. Congratulations to @Islam Soliman well deserved. See you all soon

Gaurav 1999 Silver Pajero Warren Flay 2016 Mitsubishi Pajero GLS Gold SWB 3.8 S Jacob 2013 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.5 - SWB - White John Vanderbleek 2019 Toyota FJ Cruiser Stock Blue Damien Ranjit 2014, Nissan Pathfinder - R51 - Silver munkybizness 2021 Y61 Nissan Patrol SS - LWB - White Christian Andras 2017 FJ Cruiser ShereenMK 2002 LC 100 Santoso Marjuki 2020 Jeep Rubicon-4 door-Blue Josh T. 2021 GMC AT4 Shaheen Sierra crew cab Aisha S 2015 Jeep Wrangler - 2 door - green Arman 2005 Jeep Wrangler - TJ Sahara - Grey

Hi Ale, apologies, I won't be able to join the drive today morning,am feeling a bit under the weather. Regards Arijit

Hi Marshals and Hello all I got no past offroad exp. I got Pajero 2017, hope it got all the requirments. See you tomorrow

While offroading, we cross dunes by using different methods, based on how the dune is formed and what the drive level is. Once you have spent some time in the desert, you will slowly start to pay more attention to the dune formations and how we cross them. Once you reach Intermediate and Advance level, you'll need to start learning how to read these dunes in order to navigate and create your planned routes in the desert. As a rule of thumb, the prevailing wind in UAE is blowing from a North-Western direction to South-East direction from 10AM onwards. At night and in early morning it will be reversed and blow from the South-East to North-West. This is something you should remember and you will notice when you zoom into certain areas with your navigation app (Google Maps, Gaia, MotionX, Mytrails,...) you will notice that the wind from that side has caused the dunes to take on their shape. This is a general rule and will not always apply, as you will see that in certain areas where wind is coming from different directions, you will see for example "star" dunes appearing. There are different types of dunes which are separately described below. As you can see in below picture, a dune is formed when the prevailing wind blows on a mound of sand, where the grain will move into the wind direction and create a ridge. The sand which falls on the other side of the ridge, creates a slipface, and this sand is not compacted by the wind. This is the main reason why we generally drive on the prevailing wind side or the convex side of the dunes on the Newbie level. "A dune is a curiously dynamic creature," wrote Farouk El-Baz in National Geographic. “Once formed, a dune can grow. It can change shape and move with the wind. It can even breed new dunes. Some of these offspring may be carried on the back of the mother dune. Others are born and race downwind, outpacing their parents. [Source: Farouk El-Baz, National Geographic, February 1982] The shape of dunes is affected by things like the strength, direction and consistency of the winds; the consistency and amount of sand; the hardness of the terrain and the amount of vegetation. Below we will describe the most common dunes found in the UAE. Different Dunes Crescent or Barchan Dune This is the most common dune. It forms the shape of a crescent moon when the wind blows from one direction. We generally use the words concave and convex to describe both sides of the dune: * Concave is a shape that curves inwards. * Convex is a shape that curves outwards. Crescent-shaped mounds generally are wider than long. On the concave side you will have the slipface. These dunes form under winds that blow from one direction, and they also are known as barchans. Parabolic Dune A parabolic dune is similar in shape to a barchan, but it is just the opposite. The tips of this dune point into the wind, and its main body migrates with the wind, forming a depression between the tips. Because of this formation, parabolic dunes are also known as blowout dunes. These dunes often occur when vegetation stabilizes sediments and a U-shaped blowout forms between clumps of plants. Example of Parabolic dunes near Faya: https://goo.gl/maps/ob8xu3y8VJJvF6hk8 Longitudinal or "Seif" Dunes They are also often referred to to as "sand ridges" or "seifs". Their length can range from a few meters to many kilometers and their height from a couple meters high to a couple hundred meters high. Wind pushes the sand and forms ridges parallel to the prevailing wind direction with slip faces either side of the crest. Linear dunes are straight or slightly sinuous sand ridges typically much longer than they are wide. They may be more than 160 kilometers long. Linear dunes may occur as isolated ridges, but they generally form sets of parallel ridges separated by miles of sand, gravel, or rocky interdune corridors. Some linear dunes merge to form Y-shaped compound dunes. Many form in bidirectional wind regimes. The long axes of these dunes extend in the resultant direction of sand movement. Barchanoid Dunes These ridges are similar to Barchan dunes. They are connected in long crescentic waves as the sand supply is much greater than that which forms a Barchan Dune. Star Dunes These dunes are formed when there are several prevailing wind directions - there is a complex wind regime. Typically there are three or more slip faces, whilst the dunes do not migrate they grow in height. Star dunes are radially-symmetrical, spyramidal sand mounds with slipfaces on three or more arms that radiate from the high center of the mound. They are created when the winds blow equally from every direction, causing the sand dune to grow many extensions and resemble a star. They are rare and are fairly stable and remain in the same place. Some are landmarks with names. Example of a Star dune: https://goo.gl/maps/jRnYghQc8ACzVz6T7 With this knowledge, the next time you step into the desert, you can start looking at the different dune formations, and this will give you lots of knowledge that you'll be able to apply in the future when leading and navigating off-road drives.

Newbie Drive This is an easy-level off-road drive designed to help beginners get comfortable with the basic techniques of driving on sand dunes. Drivers will learn how to safely go up and down dunes, perform small side slopes (“sideys”) and rainbow arcs while driving in a convoy. The drive focuses on mastering throttle control and smooth acceleration while negotiating the dunes. Participants will also receive an introduction to ridge riding, side sloping, and crisscrossing broad dunes — all in a safe, controlled, and beginner-friendly environment. Who can join: Any Newbie or first-time member with a 4x4 vehicle having 8–10 inches of ground clearance and front & back tow hooks. Fewbie Drive This is a moderate-level drive where drivers will further develop and practice ridge riding, side sloping, and crisscrossing techniques on more challenging terrain. Participants will learn how to handle different dune situations while understanding vehicle limitations and working with gravity rather than against it. This level teaches drivers to become more calculated, disciplined, and technically aware, going beyond simply being a capable off-roader. The pace, terrain, and challenges are several steps above Newbie-level drives. Who can join: Any Fewbie and above level off-roader. Fewbie Plus Drive Fewbie Plus is an extension of the Fewbie level, designed for more experienced Fewbie off-roaders who want to tackle greater challenges at a faster pace and with increased technical difficulty. This level serves as a bridge between Fewbie and Intermediate drives, helping off-roaders transition smoothly while building confidence, control, and technical driving skills. Who can join: Any Fewbie Plus and above level off-roader. Intermediate Drive This level combines and refines all previously learned skills on more technical terrain and smaller, sharper dunes that demand precision, vehicle control, and advanced driving techniques. Drivers will also be introduced to larger dunes and learn how to safely navigate and connect dune lines while maintaining momentum. Intermediate drives require a high level of discipline, patience, awareness, and consistency, all while driving at a significantly faster pace than Fewbie-level drives. Who can join: Any Intermediate and above level off-roader.

Just like any other sport or hobby, off road driving too has it's own etiquette's. Often times these are not spoken out loud or mentioned in public to not to embarrass anyone. If you like to continue off road driving, you should know these basic offroad driving etiquette's and follow them. Pay 100% undivided attention to the instructions: Whether it's in briefing or on radio communication while recovering, give your 100% attention and if you cannot due to some incoming call or passenger distraction, ask them to repeat. Most of the instructions are given so that you can drive safely. If you still live in the mobile world or loud music or radio volume turned down, you will miss out on critical safety instruction that can end up breaking your 4x4 or bones, seriously. Follow the instruction PRECISELY: From as simple as deflate to 12-14 PSI, drive in HI gear, engage to LO as soon as you get stuck. These instructions have been given to YOU for YOUR safety and enhancing your offroad driving experience. If you deflate to 22 PSI instead of 12, you will have endless refusals, stucks and A/T Transmission & Engine will soon overheat. If you don't engage on LO as soon as you get stuck, you will lose the most critical surface area in which LO gear could have saved the day, rather than toiling in HI gear for first few minutes and making the stuck even more worst for your car. Acknowledge the message: Always acknowledge the radio messages as the reliability of radio communication is highly questionable. Step out and help: When you are stuck and someone is helping you, it's a BASIC MANNER to step out of your car and help the Marshal or senior member who is helping you. You can help them clearing the sand, fixing the rope or inspect the stuck or plan of recovery. Sitting inside a stuck vehicle and waiting is the worst and most offending thing to do. If someone is helping you to check tire pressure, then step out and observe, how to delate to precise PSI. Disclaimer: In some 1% tricky angles or situation, if you have a doubt or difficulty to come out, ask the Marshal or senior member: If its safe for you to step out? Please don't assume and sit inside. Observe and learn: Every stuck and recovery has a lot to teach. Observe and learn from your stucks and discuss with Marshals how to not to get stuck again in a similar way. If you don't observe and learn you will end up doing the same mistakes over and over again. Learn Vs Serve: All the knowledge and experience are there to help you learn offroading and not just to serve you. So that as soon as you learn, you start practising it and become more capable offroader and be able to help others in the future.

Driving off-road is a very interesting and entertaining experience but there are a few basic things you need to check first before heading for your first off-road drive with Carnity Off-road Club. Every driver should know when to join for an offroad drive and when to pass until all below things are checked. VEHICLE Ground clearance: Minimum 8 inches under front and rear bumper is must. You will need to be careful while driving and slow down while descent and approach to avoid any minor bumper damage. If your 4x4 have EAS (electronic suspension), lift it to the max height and then measure it. Also read the manual to know what is the max speed you can drive with off-road height, as many manufacturer limit up to 60 Kmph with off-road height, which is plenty in most cases. Knowing that limit is better in case you go above that speed, so you can lift it again once you slow down. Tow hook: Your 4x4 should have at least 1 tow hook in the front and 1 tow hook at the back, more the better. Also you should check the integrity of all tow hooks and its appearance, if they are shaking or rusted or missing a bolt, then get them fixed before joining any off-road drive. Engine: Your engine should be in perfect working condition without any check engine light or any warning lights on dashboard or leaking oil or coolant. Engine takes more stress while off-roading so well serviced 4x4 performs better on off-road. If you recently bought the car and have no idea of last service, then it's highly advisable to get the engine service before your first off-road drive. Gear / Transmission: Your 4x4 should have 4L and 4H gearing option. AWD or SUV without LO/HI gearing option are not advisable for sand off-roading. Suspension: Your 4x4 vehicle suspension should be in reasonable and drivable condition. You can drive with stock suspension perfectly fine and then you can decide to modify it, if really needed. Any suspension lifted up to 2-3 inches are accepted, anything above 3 inches lift need trip leader approval before joining any drive to make sure if you have widened the wheelbase to lower the center of gravity in an orderly manner. Tires: Your 4x4 tires should be in good condition with enough tread and more than half life left. Tires nearing their end usually fail while off-roading, so check for date of manufacturing shouldn't be more than 3-4 years. No visible cuts or lost tread chunks or cracking sidewall should be there. Fuel Tank: You should always join the off-road drive with full fuel tank, as all vehicles consume double or triple the amount of fuel while off-roading. You don't need to change the fuel type from special to super for off-road purpose, continue with your fuel type as per manufacturers recommendation. Sign up: Once you have checked all these above points then RSVP the drive calendar and post an introductory message on the drive post - sharing your 4x4 details, previous off-road experience (if any), so that trip lead can acknowledge and plan the drive accordingly. OFF-ROAD GEAR You don't need any off-road gear or recovery gears for your first off-road drive, but if you have a shovel, flag and a radio (walkie talkie) then please carry it with you. Rest all the off-road gears and recovery tools will be shown to you once you attend the briefing and you can read more about them here: https://carnity.com/advice/offroad/most-comprehensive-list-of-off-road-gears-and-recovery-tools-r81 OFF-ROAD DRIVE Always wear long pants and closed shoes (no slippers) to avoid any injury or sun burn. Carry hat/cap/scarf, in case you need to spend long time under the sun. Carry plenty of water and soft drinks of your choice to keep you hydrated. Carry your camera mounts if you like to record the drive (no hand held). No carrying or consumption of any type of alcoholic drinks on the drive.

Congratulations @Islam Soliman for reaching the Marshal level with Carnity Offroad Club. Islam has Joined Carnity a year back with a very high spirit and calm approach with his GMC Yukon. With regular off-road drives and exceptional enthusiasm toward off-roading he soon found his peace in his newly discovered passion. His dedication for off-road drives, skillful contributions and commanding support on drives were always been highly appreciated. Islam has been well-known to tame the Yukon size beast successfully and then master it on the most rigorous terrain in the UAE. His persistent approach and keen observation to solve any problem during the drive, car, or the planning stage has been very instrumental. Islam specializes in utilizing and optimizing the team effort with great maturity and a level-headed approach at difficult times. His exceptional patient and tolerant approach towards new offroaders and tricky situations with a humble attitude is a cornerstone of this achievement. MARSHAL is one of the most prestigious and sought-after titles that comes after a lot of hard work, patience, tolerance, and dedication. Just like all the levels in Carnity offroad club is "NOT" only based on driving skills but instead based on the combination of your personality + intelligence + team spirit + adventure. This Marshal title is an epitome for all levels in the offroad grading structure. So if anyone wants to grow, they can set any of Carnity Offroad Club Marshal as a PERFECT example for not only following the driving skills and style but also observing their behavior, teamwork, presence of mind, calculative approach, patience and tolerance to teach and support new offroaders. Carnity Benefits Earn reward and recognition from 1:1 Desert Driving Course Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Full access to Carnity without any paid subscription Join any drive in the “Manage” tab even when the drive is full Carnity Contribution Committed to driving with Carnity off-road club only Lead/Support drives as per Carnity drive planning Carnity off-road club betterment and advancement Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 20 drives are required for Marshal promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Marshal / Crew feedback.) What you'll learn Trip route planning as per convoy’s response Drive topic and calendar posting and management Deal with different cultures, mindsets and nationalities Explore new areas and conduct recce trips independently Basic car technical and electronic management skills Skills required A humble, approachable and social person Matured, pro-active, calm and composed Mentor-ship skills to train off-roaders at all levels Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with a low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, toolbox, tie-down straps, fluids. Drive teamwork Lead ALL LEVEL drives independently Assign and manage second lead, center forward and sweep Support and supervise senior offroaders at all levels Drive Joining All Levels Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

General Info 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 Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Intermediate and Above When: 25 Sep 2021, Saturday. Meeting time: 6:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/o9mpu25Dfqav6tTn8 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), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 10:30 AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL STARTING AND ENDING THE DRIVE AT THE SAME POINT, WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 drivers. RSVP will close on Thursday - 5 PM. 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:

Congrats @Islam Soliman, no surprises here'!!! See you soon at your new level on one of the drives

Congrats @Islam Soliman🤙🤙

Definitely this:

she looks good in the pocket 😆

@Ale Vallecchi it was a great drive thanks got your efforts and writingwriting great review.

Hi @Ale Vallecchi thank you

Please come @Joseph Raju. We'll see what we can do. Thanks

Hello @Ale Vallecchi Thank you for your kindness Actually I can’t replace my tow hook today. so I thought I will join next drive. but if you are ok I can come tomorrow for seeing the walkie talkie and attend the introduction thank you

I have one more enquiry any suggestion for two way radio. I am planning to buy one

Added your name. See you tomorrow.

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

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

@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

@Naim Aoun @Gilbert Khalil @Alexander Holodny @Richard Franks @Chris Wing @Rodi @Daniel Yang @Gregory @Charbel @Christopher Assal @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ Here is the convoy order for tomorrow; we will be using channel#4 on the radio. there will be @Frederic's newbie convoy deflating close to our meeting point. Don't be confused, just pass them through and continue. You will find our point around 1 km away from them See you all in the morning!

Drive RSVP is closed now. Please find your convoy numbering below. We will use Radio Channel 4: 446.081'25 Please call me in case of any emergency: 050 5258706. Sleep tight it's gonna be fun drive with intermittent big dunes and small technical dunes in between to test your focus and skills. Looking forward to see how crop circles are doing after a long gap. Get the fuel tank fill-up much before reaching the meeting point, as mentioned before. @Christian Andras @S Jacob @John Vanderbleek @Damien Ranjit @munkybizness @Dodi Syahdar @ShereenMK @Warren Flay @Santoso Marjuki @Josh T. @Aisha S @Arman Gaurav 1999 Silver Pajero Christian Andras 2017 FJ Cruiser S Jacob 2013 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.5 - SWB - White John Vanderbleek 2019 Toyota FJ Cruiser Stock Blue Damien Ranjit 2014, Nissan Pathfinder - R51 - Silver munkybizness 2021 Y61 Nissan Patrol SS - LWB - White Dodi Syahdar 2018 Ford F150 Raptor ShereenMK 2002 LC 100 Warren Flay 2016 Mitsubishi Pajero GLS Gold SWB 3.8 Santoso Marjuki 2020 Jeep Rubicon-4 door-Blue Josh T. 2021 GMC AT4 Shaheen Sierra crew cab Aisha S 2015 Jeep Wrangler - 2 door - green Arman 2005 Jeep Wrangler - TJ Sahara - Grey

Great @Enrico Biscaro! Nice to hear that you have found a slot. Thanks to our desert cowgirls @Foxtrot Oscar and @Jeepie for organizing all are in

I had back back 4 drives till last one in which @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil was also there. That’s another record in my stats book.

@Chinthaka Ruwan I am travelling ... No drive for me for the next 2 weeks 🤦🏻‍♂️

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalil don't you come this week ? 😄

Dear @Islam Soliman, can you please add me on the WL for a 2nd drive ? I have to discover this new level 😉 !

Unfortunately have something planned this Saturday, looking forward to join your drive soon! Correction: will be joining after all

Every offroad convoy has to follow these rules to keep moving the whole convoy safely at all times: Follow the car in front of you all the time. And also follow the path taken by that car (STRICTLY), until you learn to lead. As an occasional exception, if you see the car in front of you struggled or churn up the path, it is advisable to drive little left or right and then follow the same path again. Keep 5-10 cars distance all the time. Keeping it too close you will risk an accident and keeping it too long, you will lose the path. If you cannot see the car behind you, please stop and notify on the radio so that the leader can stop until they all catch up. Stick to your convoy numbering at all times, if changed due to some situation fall back to the same order as soon as you can but safely. If convoy is not moving due to some stuck / refusal, please be patient and stay safe at your designated position. No playing, side sloping or any breaking the convoy activities will not be tolerated. Radio communication is PRIME, listen and respond to it promptly all the time. Convoy positions Leader: The first car who leads the drive and everyone has to follow the leader instructions precisely with respect. Second lead: The second car in a convoy, who drives behind the leader and avoid or fix any unforeseen situation as it may happen. Everyone in the convoy needs to follow the "second lead" path like a magnet - at all times. Sweep: One or two cars at end of the convoy to help and recover stuck vehicles or advise the correct path after the refusal. Flying Sweep: This car can be anywhere to do the sweep duties of recovering stuck vehicle or coordinating the convoy movement.