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@Ale Vallecchi Thank you and congrats for a very well planned drive!. The convoy @Thomas Varghese @Sunil Mathew @Ashok chaturvedi @JeromeFJ, @Looper, @Matt.T, @Arman, @Lawrence_Chehimi, @Ranjan Das @Russ, @marks executed the Masterplan of the professor @Ale Vallecchito near perfection! a well deserved "LRDG" to all! This was indeed one of the longest drives ( in terms of distance) that i had previously driven. and having driven in a lot of the Long range patrol drives, i would say that this was one of the best ones! we all have experienced the skill focused drives like technical challenge, ridge riders, bowls of Area 53 in our journey to the Intermediate level. I believe that the LRDG drives focus on the perfect execution of these skills over and over and over again moving though different areas. so was this drives too easy? - if anyone felt it was, congratulations! you have moved up higher in your skill and in sync with your car. well done!! The drive was full of challenges which i believe did not look like challenge to many as they repeated them time and again in skill focused drives. On a side note: I am looking for a drive which will take us from the beaches on the east coast to the massive dunes of Liwa passing through soft red sand of Mahafiz, Faya , Bowls of sharjah to the long range dunes of lisaili , cutting across the terrain of Sweihan eventually landing at Moreeb! That would be a a perfect " LRDG" Drive with night halts to enjoy the star filled nights like a proper Bedouin lifestyle. I remember the Movie " Hindalgo" and would love to go on a adventure with our modern day " Mustang"!! Well done everyone!! looking forward for the next one!

Hi @Ale Vallecchi I don’t have a great deal to add to the comments already made. We are lucky that there are enough drives available to select ones that spur our interest, although one downside of Intermediate level is that there is generally only one drive per week, so perhaps the choice is less if you want to drive at a ‘higher’ level and have a choice of the type of drive you prefer.. Although my vehicle isn’t necessarily the most suited to technical areas, I enjoy the challenge of them and on Saturday to complete such a long distance without any issues at all is a testament not to the fact that it was ‘easy’ but rather I was at full concentration and not taking anything for granted. At the back we have the added challenge of soft churned up sand of course which always adds to the test! I appreciate seeing new areas and exploring parts of this country I never previously knew existed, so my message would be let’s keep trying to find new terrain and encounter whatever Mother Nature throws our way on any given day!

Hi @Ale Vallecchi - I have joined a number of your long range patrols and happy to offer my view as requested. Specific to your questions: challenges & ease: Yes and Yes. I personally joint the drives knowing this was not a drive for the obstacles/challenges, rather a long range, cross Emirate exploration. The challenge was different, the ease was necessary else we would not achieve the objective to cross almost the entire emirate of Dubai off-road should we delve longer in the play areas: No, not for me. The joy of the longer trip was the exploration and variation in terrain, obstacles and speeds. It felt as if we tackled dunes for the purpose of crossing them vs playing and this i liked as it kept to the theme of the drive. My personal feedback on this type of drive: Each lead brings their own character to a drive, as such, not all would enjoy or make enjoyable such a trip so I would resist from changing the formulae as the route combined with your approach on these trips is what makes it special. I Enjoy the running commentary, learning about the geology and geography of the regions we pass, intentionally looking for fauna and wildlife, having someone who has crossed/explored the vast deserts of Africa giving a guided tour of our sandpit - you are the special potion that makes this trip work (not the obstacles, challenges or distance). If you decide to adapt/evolve/change these long range patrols - we are happy to experiment with you. Thank you for reaching out for feedback - i look forward to joining a future 'patrol' soon.

Hi @Ale Vallecchi, I too echo some of the observations of fellow drivers as above. To answer your questions :- 1. Did the drive provide "expected" challenges ? - YES. Because the expectation for me as a participant in the drive is influenced or formed based on the pre-drive intro you usually give, with subtle hints sometimes or very clear/louder pointers otherwise. If the drive title has "long range patrol" border patrol" etc , we now know what to expect from such signature drives 2. Was it too easy ? - I would still answer with a half hearted YES, because i have experienced much more difficult/challenging/daring drives with you at lower levels. But again, this needs to be analysed with Q#1 above, wherein the drive plan is not to go through challenging crossings, but cover the distance, which in itself is another skill set requiring long , sustained concentration. 3. Should we have delved longer in play areas ? - As a personal opinion/preference, YES, again, but that is not what we signed up for, in the first place In short, the drive did 100% justice to the announced drive plan, while personal preferences of us drivers will surely vary, but as mentioned by Jerome, we are blessed to have a very wide variety of drives at @Carnity, and all of us will continue to get the drives at various levels of alignment with each one's personal tastes. This drive , for me was special, being my IM "baptism" and having driven 100+ km, in a new area, it also gives me a sense of achievement, with a subtle message that desert driving is not only about daring crossings, riding ridges , adrenalie rush etc . Looking forward and coming back for more!!

Dear Desertnauts. A quick rundown of tomorrow exploration. We'll meet and deflate on the side of E55, in the village of Biyatah, in the direction going from Al Dhaid to the small towns Al Lebsa and Kabir. From there we'll look for an appropriate entry point into the long range longitudinal dunes. We'll choose the radio channel on the spot. The convoy order will be the following: @Zixuan Huang - Charlie in Second Lead @Sunil Mathew in position #3 @Charbel at #4 @Thomas Varghese will be #5 @Anoop Nair #6 @Humayun Ghias is going to be #7, and @Shaaz Sha will Sweep. Meeting time will be 2:30PM; please consider the longer distance of the meeting area from Dubai, to reach as much on time as possible. Have a great night, in preparation for a relaxing (Inshallah) afternoon immersed in a typical, yet unusual, Emirati nature.

I love the long range patrol drives and had been a participant from the beginning except when I took the 2 month break. Love the way its an endurance drive both for the man and the machine. Driving non stop for 4 hours is the challenge

This is a really worthwhile drive for any vehicle, however for me driving a larger vehicle it has been "mission critical" to start to learn and appreciate the intricacies of technical dunes, sometimes deceptive, but always a challenge and a lot of fun and satisfaction when you look back and see what you have guided your vehicle through. I learn something new on technical every time I go out, most importantly it teaches me more and more about the dimensions fo my vehicle, the approach angles, the types of down slopes I can go down without bottoming out, where I might hit my bumper or get beached in a gulley. Also you won't find a better Professor than @Wrangeld to wrangle your way through the technical dunes.

Lmao - i previously believed the “it’s okay” … 16th year I am now wiser (and have the war wounds)

My "wow" reaction was for this part of your post!!!

Brilliant drive! @Lorenzo Candelpergher. amazing planning by you and perfect execution by the entire convoy. As far as i remember, as a newbie i never venturing into the winding bowls of Faya or the long range sidey play areas in Mahafiz. It was a beautiful track with ample of opportunity to learn basics of dune surfing! Thankyou for the planning this drive! As for the convoy, it was very nice to meet the new breed of so called "Newbies". This group amazed me with their driving skills and quick learning! kudos @Manish Kashyap for your Newbie "baptism". you drove well handling the blue beast!. its was a pleasure to meet the trio of @Joji varghese @eldose baby @Rsjiv Samuel well done boys ! i am sure you enjoyed With a small hiccup with your X, @Ferl Brownyou managed very to navigate well! as to your question, Xterra inherently has higher Power to weight ratio than a 3.8 LWB Pajero. You will slowly realize the potential of your car. @Waqar Sarwar it was charm to see you driving effortlessly ahead on me on the convoy following the line to the dot!. @Prakash Anoop we all have that royal stuck moment!. with clear instructions from Lorenzo, you managed to get out if the nasty bowl! well done. the Y62 boys! @Mohammed Mansoor @kiranshinde handled their ride beautifully, As Lornezo mentioned, it will be essential to come at terms with the dynamics of your car and he is one of the best person to advice you ( having driven Y62 for majority of his drives) @Raman_Dbx i am sure you had quite fun at the back and kudos to you and @Rsjiv Samuel for managing through the churned up tracks. Thanks @Rsjiv Samuel for sweeping the convoy with good radio communication. in the end i would like to just point out following three things from my vantage point 1. Have clear radio communication 2. Never overtake a stuck / refusal vehicle 3. maintain sufficient distance to maintain momentum well done boys! I have uploaded some pics of the beautiful Sideys for all! ( ps: i am not a good photographer so pics may not reflect the true nature of the driving skill . I am still learning on each drive!):) until next time!

Here is todays… inspired by recent ‘support team’ and ‘advisor’ graduates!

Thanks Richard for sharing Becky's amazing photography. She definitely deserve lot of applause being the youngest photographer among all. Well done Becky, keep it up.

Dear Magnificent Seven Davie Chase @Davie Chase Raman_Dbx @Raman_Dbx salah2u @salah2u Vaibhav @Vaibhav Alexanderrr @Alexanderrr Shyam Menon @Shyam Menon JAISROCK @JAISROCK Delighted to welcome you to the technical skills drive planned for Friday Saturday. I will be supported by two of our most experienced drivers, meaning we can give some close attention to all attending, and we will have vehicles in the seniors that have the same sort of dynamics as the vehicles on the drive: I have an SWB Pajero - not quite a jeep, but similar. @GauravSoni has a LWB Pajero - not quite an LWB Jeep but close enough @Alex Raptor has a Ford 150 Raptor - same in scale as a Y62 The plan is to find some technical dunes in the Qudra area and spend a good few hours practicing driving through these difficult patches of dunes. We will get stuck - so you will get the added benefit of being able to practice endless self recovery!

Hi @Hisham Masaad saw this in the web, can't believe someone did it already!!! 😂 Take care and stay safe

Dear @Ale Vallecchi I don't know what to reply for the message you put here. Right from the time I joined Carnity I look forward for your drives right from my newbie drives to fewbie, fewbie plus to Intermediate. I faithfully joined whenever I can for your drives. I enjoy from the beginning to the end. I agree you don't do jeep jumping in the desert which is suitable for me as my car is a daily drive. I am coming with you to explore the desert and drive with you and not to do stunts. I request you to continue doing what you are doing now. To tell you the truth I felt completely exhausted from the long drive. Please note this is not as a criticism. In fact this is what I wanted. To spend all my extra energy and come home dead tired. Please keep doing what you are doing now. This is more like an endurance test for me. Imagine covering all that distance in very technical area in that much time. Thankfully all the drivers performed extremely well with almost few refusals and a stuck of mine. By the time you instructed me to change the track I was already committed to that path whereas I always put a safe distance behind you all other times. That was too tight an area and I didn't want to lose sight of you as the sand was too bright to keep track of your tracks where you went and I paid the price. Thankfully @Ashok chaturvedi was ready with his ropes to lend a hand and recovery was easily executed under your expert guidance. To be shovelling under the blazing sun would have been a torture. I look forward for your future drives and will join whenever I can. Actually by carefully choosing the tracks and not attempting crazy stunts is what attracts me to your drives as I know I can enjoy without harming my car. I love my car and I don't want to sacrifice it to the sands.

@Ale Vallecchi I really align with what @JeromeFJ has said. I believe there is a place for each kind of drive. In terms of 'easy' I genuinely belive that when concentration is maintained and the convoy remains focused the errors are less. I quite like the idea that the drive is not only a drive but has a challenge to complete a route. I believe it is the case on previous drives Ale that we have not reached the target exit for whatever reason, which highlights they are not all 'easily achievable '. I look forward to the day we have an all day challenge to test concentration!!

@Zed since u also got y62, and many other members drive Nissan i thought of sharing my experience of how mine got fixed took it to Nissan dealership, they plug-in their computers, and the expression was they synchronised the ABS. It’s was fixed by computer, no parts were changed. what they also said if something of similar nature comes up after desert drive, give it few days and drive on auto and the system will automatically resync all sensors and what ever works with it. I had been driving off road for many years and also had few patrols, but never seen ABS lights in past. regards,

@Gaurav Thanks for your kind words. I am hoping she will get some good shots of the feast you have on your BBQ on Friday 😜

Thanks for the vote of confidence ... All day drive ... Saturday

Fog is always an uncertain weather condition depending on multiple factors. But since we are still facing warm weather, by delaying the start of the drive to 7 AM we would be extending it to 11:00 AM where we most likely have overheating cars. Hence the drive start timing for October month is kept at 6 AM. In the event of fog, the Lead would keep Safety in mind to decide whether its safe to drive or not and if necessary even delay the drive. Also, drives in November would start at 6:30 AM.

Hi @JAISROCK sure, if you completed the AN you are welcome to join.

Dear @Ale Vallecchi, for my part, what I like in the drives you propose is the exploration/ navigation part, the fact that we intend to reach somewhere, to travel in the desert, and not only climbing a high dune or circling a tight bowl. I like the fact that we use our vehicles capacities and our driving skills to navigate into the desert environment to reach a point, or travel far into one direction. Learning the specificity of the areas (geology, vegetation, wildlife, human activities) is also part of the interest. And doing so with an homogeneous convoy at FB+ or IM level just expands the possibilities. So yes, sometimes, it might look a bit "easy" because if you isolate 20 min of the drive, one might consider that this single portion does not bring so much difficulty, but the fact that this 20 min portion is repeated 15 times in the 5h total duration of the drive is a difficulty in itself, and keeping the concentration and awareness to be ready for this slip face a bit more steep @3:47, or this sudden sharp turn at the end of a ridge @4:38 is also part of the challenge. Having said so, I must admit, that I took the liberty in some occasions, especially in the Little Sweihan area, to go a bit higher than the car in front of me when the path was clear and the roller coaster fun was too tempting. Probably things that you see when you have a few cars in front of you to show the route, and when you don't have to worry with the navigation part. We are lucky within @Carnity to be offered with a wide variety of drives, We have other possibilities for breathtaking bowls or climbs! I definitely appreciate a lot these long exploration drives, and considering how fast your drives are filling in the calendar on Sunday evening, sure I'm not the only one !

Faqa to Ganthoot: Border Patrol Run - Drive Report The path of least resistance is the path of most allowance - Abraham Warning: this post contains self-criticism questions that I kindly ask the members to help me answer 🤭 As transpires from some post-drive comments, this was indeed "The" longest drive. For most members who joined, as well as for me. Spurred by a background in long-range trips, I have tended to push my drives longer than average (within the half-day time constraints we usually have). Yet, only a handful of drives made it over the 100Km mark, and only one was longer then 110 Km. This "Border Patrol Run" actually beat the previous record (BTW, on a similar Faqa to Qudra route) by 2 KM: 116 Km of total driving, in 40 minutes less driving time than the previous 114Km record. These drives express my philosophy of desert driving: getting from A to B in the shortest possible time, using all available off-roading skills in a safe manner, and being able to visit all the interesting spots along the route (beautiful dune formations, areas of peculiar vegetation, local fauna, geological features). To manage long distance drives, I tend to plan and commit to a "path of least resistance". As the saying goes, this should allow to achieve more, more easily. So, does this mean that these drives are easy ones? This is a question I often ask myself, vis a vis other drives I have done as part of a convoy, led with a more extreme orientation in mind (longer climbs, riskier crossings, taller side-sloping, etc.). Should I favor, at least at Fewbie Plus and Intermediate levels, more daring maneuvers (reaching for higher and faster criss-crossing, or attempt extreme side sloping)? I kindly ask the members who joined, either this or previous long distance drives, to provide me with their view and feedback to the question: did the drive provide the expected challenges, or was it too easy, in the attempt to last longer? Should we have delved longer in play-areas, and providing more challenges in terms of specific skills, at the expense of completing the planned itinerary? Your view will help me perfect my future FB+ and IM drives. Having said this, I must admit that I DID enjoy yesterday's drive a lot. The terrain of choice proved diverse as far as landscapes were concerned, and all-encompassing in terms of the skills necessary to manage it. The convoy behaved in an almost perfect way, both in terms of discipline (only one time the order was broken, when facing a delicate exit from a criss-crossing into a deep man-made track), and driving skills (only one pull off a stuck into an unavoidable sand bowl, and virtually no refusals.....hence my questions: was it too easy, or the drivers were just great?). Perhaps most drivers did not notice that almost from the beginning (except a short initial stretch in Faqa, and the final part of Little Sweihan) we crossed the cordons from the slip-face, hence the drive acquired an additional factor of difficulty. One small disappointment came from the deep man-made tracks we encountered and crossed in most of the Faqa segment. A limiting factor throughout the drive was also the blinding refraction of the sunlight off the sand, forcing me to reduce the drive's speed, in order to avoid dangerous blind spots. Other than these few issues, it was a great drive, covering, as we said, 116Km, in 4:14 hours of driving (with only 40 minutes of breaks), and with an average moving speed of 27Km/h (24 Km/h overall). My thanks for this record-beating drive go to @Thomas Varghese for the Second Lead (well executed, at the perfect distance to guarantee re-directions and corrections), @GauravSoni for anchoring the convoy, and @marks for the Sweep (glad you both saw relatively little action, and could concentrate on having fun). My hat comes off for @Sunil Mathew (I hope you enjoyed your IM baptism), @Ashok chaturvedi (welcome back), @JeromeFJ, @Looper, @Matt.T, @Arman, @Lawrence_Chehimi, @Ranjan Das and @Russ, all of whom drove almost in silence, which I take as a sign of concentration and enjoyment. Thank you very much for your participation. While I wish you all a great week, I am looking forward to your feedback regarding how to improve these IM drives, if you think some adjustments should be made.

In the UAE, we have a myriad of terrains to choose from when it comes to desert driving. For many new members who might be asking themselves what the differences actually are, I wanted to compile the most known areas we drive in, and give some information about the area and what you can expect when you join a drive with us in that area. We will be focusing on the sand driving. Northern Emirates (UAQ and RAK) Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah have some very nice areas that we often explore, with plenty of vegetation, wildlife, and the mountains are never far away. On these drives, the emphasis is more on exploration than on the typical dune bashing. Scenic Score: 95% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 95% Fossil Rock - Faya - Sharjah From the moment you drive on the Sharjah - Kalba road, you'll see the majestic Fossil Rock mountain on the right hand side. It has got its name due to the ancient fossils that you can find on the rocks, and the surrounding red dunes are a delight to drive. Usually starting from Batayeh-Faya road, the dunes gradually go from small and bushy until you reach the nice open areas with "The Long Lady" as one of the most popular dunes to showcase and practice your sidesloping skills. The cherry on top is the climb on Fossil Rock itself which provides an amazing scenic view on the area and Mleiha town below. A must for every beginner level driver ! To even up the challenge you can take on the nice bowls behind Fossil Rock, or head out to Faya which is also called "The Saddle". Scenic Score: 90% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 90% Pink Rock - Big Red - Sharjah Nearby Fossil Rock, you will find Pink Rock, which got its name from the pinkish hue the rocks have. This very popular off-road area is known for the smooth gentle dunes at the start that gradually move to challenging bowls nearby the base of Pink Rock. Climbing Pink Rock is the ideal challenge for beginners and provides a fantastic view as well. From Pink Rock you can head out to Big Red which will up the challenge and entice every level of off-roader. The Big Red area is an off-roader hotspot during the season. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 75% Bidayer / Area 53 / Schuwaib - Sharjah This area is not for the faint of heart, and the big dunes will demand you to keep momentum at all times, while the massive hills such as Iftar Bowl and Super Bowl are ultimate play areas one can find in Sharjah. This area tends to be extremely busy during the offroad season. Scenic Score: 60% Excitement Score: 80% Versatility Score: 65% Margham / Lahbab - Dubai A little less known area, but very versatile with nice technical areas, playable bowls, and overall a terrain where any level offroader can practice and hone their skills without encountering too many cross tracks. Scenic Score: 70% Excitement Score: 70% Versatility Score: 75% Murquab - Lisaili - Faqa - Dubai This area is located on the Dubai-Al Ain road and offers so much. From technical terrain, to the arboretum in Faqa, long range dunes in both Faqa and some areas of Lisaili, and the most amazing creamy dunes below the Maktoum Solar Park which we have now called "Little Sweihan". This area never disappoints and there is a reason we have it on our weekly drives schedules ! Scenic Score: 85% Excitement Score: 80% Versatility Score: 95% Al Qudra - Dubai Al Qudra has become one of the most well known Offroad areas in Dubai, mainly due to the close vicinity to the city, but also because of its versatility, nearby facilities (Last Exit, Love Lakes), and the wildlife than can be spotted while off-roading (gazelles, oryx). This area stretches out to Murquab in the East via Al Hathmah area, on to Faqa going South below the Solar Park, and up to the Bab al Shams resort in the West. Scenic Score: 85% Excitement Score: 75% Versatility Score: 95% Sweihan - Abu Dhabi / Al Ain The Sweihan area in Abu Dhabi has to be experienced, and the proximity to Dubai brings lots of Dubai residents to Sweihan to explore the massive long range dunes and versatile area that has something in store for every off-roader. Sweihan never disappoints and the Nagrah area which alternates between monstrous dunes and deserted sabkhas will leave you hungry for more every single time. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 90% Versatility Score: 95% Al Khatim - Abu Dhabi A very popular and versatile offroader destination for Abu Dhabi residents with exhilarating dunes and technical areas that will challenge any offroader. Scenic Score: 80% Excitement Score: 90% Versatility Score: 80% Wagan / Umm Al Oash / Bu Tais - Abu Dhabi / Al Ain In search for monstruous dunes where momentum and pace are critical and where your vehicle will be pushed to its limit ? You have come to the right place as this area is spoiled with massive dunes, alternated by long flat sabkhas where you can get your bearings back before heading in again, and again ! Scenic Score: 95% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 80% Liwa Madinat Zayed - Abu Dhabi The Madinat Zayed area is famous for its Yellow Water Truck, which was left behind many years back, but no-one really knows how it got there. This area is consisting of massive dunes, and you can easily scale the level up or down in this area based on the convoy you bring there. From this place onwards and further down south into Liwa Crescent you will feel like you are on a different planet. Scenic Score: 90% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 90% Liwa Crescent - Abu Dhabi Seeing LIWA for the first time will leave you astonished, baffled, and beyond comprehension. From Himeem in the East, to Khanoor in the West, this whole area is filled with some of the biggest dunes on this planet, massive slipfaces that will make you shiver when descending, and extremely technical dunes that will require your utmost focus. This area is unforgettable and every off-roader should have this on his bucket list ! Scenic Score: 100% Excitement Score: 100% Versatility Score: 100%

Off-road Skill Development Drive – Technical Dunes You may be confident scaling the heights and riding the ridges, perhaps criss crossing is your thing, but if you find yourself in an area of tightly packed dunes, with soft sand, and sharp ridges, all the power in the world will likely not help you through these sections - and all to often to get to the big fun play dunes there are ranges of technical dunes through which you need to pass. So, it's time to practice this important off road skill and understand the finesse & control needed to get you through this type of dune with safely and with much greater confidence. This drive will be focused on spending time in these types of dunes so has little 'playtime' , focused on allowing you the time and patience to get through these sections of dunes so that technical dunes hold no fear. What you'll learn How to follow the correct line taken through technical. Finesse & throttle control as tools to master. Managing soft small sand bowls, ridges and banks. Gauging the correct and safest moment to abort when momentum fails. 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: Newbie and Above When: 16 October 2021 Friday Meeting time: 6:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/kvm1noBkXoLtAxSaA 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, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 10.00 AM 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. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. 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 THE BELOW IN THE EVENTS CALENDAR

Congratulations @Gilbert Khalil for reaching the Fewbie Plus Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. FEWBIE PLUS Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 Fewbie drives are required within last 6 months for Fewbie Plus promotion. What you'll learn Advance dune and sand reading Advance recovery techniques Rocking and crawling to make path Learn to flatten/compact soft sand patch Self recovery from crest Advance side sloping and long hill climb Advance ridge riding and criss crossing Advance control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving FULLY control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Extremely attentive and focused while driving Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Bash plate and skid plate protected Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie and Fewbie Plus drives Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Sad to also have to drop out! I was just reminded it’s my wedding anniversary 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️ I am a little embarrassed that I had to be reminded! Have a great trip all and cannot wait for the mid winter bbq

Please WL me @sertac, 2nd drive

Hi @Naim Aoun I went through this subject for weeks, I have the JL with Mopar Lift kit and FOX suspension, I did multiple jumps, hit many ditches, drove 110+ km/h off-road, 20,000 KM and so far so good. The reinforcement was mandatory with JK the minute you go off-road as JK axles were very thin and very weak, the axles in JL are stronger and last more but still vulnerable. I have a friend who bended his JL axles after more than 70,000 KM of extreme off-roading. He went to police, got accident report and all was covered by insurance. Breaking the axles will for sure be covered by insurance off-road coverage, its just the hassle you will have to go through getting the car out of desert in case it happens. The agency has the reinforcement kit which will cost AED 5500+ which I think is too much, you will find after market kits for around 4000 but I think its too risky as they have to remove the whole underneath setup, weld the kit and then return everything back, they might fix things in a wrong way in-addition to a possibility to cause warranty issues later as the car got modified outside agency. Conclusion is make sure you have insurance with off-road coverage and that's it. Enjoy Jeeping 😉

Hi @Wrangeld, this is a must for newbies like me. Just a question, I'll be driving an Absolute newbie drive on Friday 15th and will join this drive with you on 16th. Is this fine, since ill be completing the Absolute newbie drive? I have done 4 drives with other group.

This sounds like a lot of fun! Sad to miss it as my little one is too young even to ride on a newbie! Looking forward to join next time

Sorry bro, I cant edit the poll, but will rem to put you in FB convoy.

Thanks for the feedback Gaurav. I chose the new Michelin ltx force which seemed slightly less aggressive/AT as the Geolanders. I'm not sure what Michelin may have changed but to be honest they feel a little heavy and have a little more sound on the road then I expected. If I had to do it again I would go with Geolanders but I'm sure these will last awhile. My LC has stock rear diff lock and front locker is TJM air locker. Installed a year or so ago to replace weak front diff. Definitely wanting to have Toyota supercharger set at stock tuning for reliability.

I love your patience and sensible approach in analyzing things into right perspective and set your limits and goals. Congrats for SC and its wise to stick to Stage 1 to maximize engine usable life of 99 model, unless you rebuilt whole engine and upgraded internals too. Btw, ref to self recovering issue per last drive, I noticed you made a choice of Michelin which is good tire for road and sand as they are super light but they aren't good for self-recovery. If you really wish to have good self recovery capabilities then AT tires goes much before the diff-lock choice.

Hello! I have registered myself for the drive. I have done 10 drives previously with a different group. I drive a Jeep JL and have the compressor, flag also. I have finished my absolute newbie drive too. Can I be evaluated for this drive and check if I am eligible for fewbie promotion? 🙂

@Gaurav pls can you change my preference to a ‘fewbie’ drive. I will now be coming alone. Thanks

well done @Gilbert Khalil

WOW, very nice skill development theme @Wrangeld Looks like you are prepping them for serious, prestigious, one and only upcoming challenges quietly.

I have experimented this route from Ritz Carlton to Wadi Shawka for some distance and had to go back abandoning the exploration after getting a call from office to come back for a meeting. Fantastic place. Has lots of camels and donkeys when we exit from Ritz Carlton entrance to the desert route. Its a really scenic place and I doubt we will exit at 6.30 if everybody gets carried away by the beautiful landscape.

Hi @Gaurav, will the start and end point be the same? I have friends who are interested to go. But they will need to park their saloon car and hop onto my 4x4. I am wondering if there is a place for them to park their car near the start point.

What a drive! >60km in the desert, 1.5 hours in the dark! Stunning white endless dunes with us seemingly the only people in the desert, driving into the sunset and then experiencing a night drive in a sea of tight technical dunes! @Foxtrot Oscar you upgraded all of us a level and the drive brief didn't do the trip justice - thankyou again for being ambitious and sticking to it - i can only imagine how exhausting it was as the thought and care upfront vs us following is considerably different. @Wade Pat2 was flawless and gave all of us so much confidence following him. the first half of the drive, if it wasn't for a faulty Diff-Loc - every refusal was self recovered! Ending the drive and looked around, i have a suspicion there are a few seniors' badged as 'newbies' - for those of you that want to transfer past off-road experience and move to 'fewbie' sooner, have a look here on how to do that: @Pacific thank you for all the support at the back and saving me a few trips! @Zedi will 100% be catching you for a chat in our next drive, love your humor, support and yelling - its why we make a good team! I cannot wait to make my pilgrimage to AD and your home town very soon to return the support! @Goh KP (I apologize for addressing you as 'Prado' - i will look to learn names at the start of drives) @Gertjan and @Brendan White you all were incredible for a first 'newbie' drive and I would put the credit for the route we took and the extension down to you 3 giving @Foxtrot Oscar the confidence to keep challenging. @Mohammed Mansoor @Alexanderrr @salah2u @AlexM @Daniel Rodas @luis mantecon - I saw you all just having fun and making light of the challenges being at the back end of a long convoy! super driving. Thank you ALL for the patience as we extended the trip, the support throughout and great communications which made the few challenges we faced a breeze to overcome. 7PM today next drives are posted - hope to join you all again very soon

Wow….what a drive today…most challenging drive for me and most enjoyable. Thnx @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Gaurav Soni @Rsjiv Samuel and whole team.

Thanks a lot for the wonderful drive @Lorenzo Candelpergher and @GauravSoni

Thanks a lot @Lorenzo Candelpergher and @GauravSoni for an amazing drive today. I can't wait to be back in UAE in November to join more drives, and continue to improve my skills.

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, The day started at Mahafiz in a beautiful dawn with the skyline of Fossil Rock over the horizon: All convoy members made it to the meeting point quite early, so we would have been ready to move quite soon hadn't it been for the missing flag mount on @Manish Kashyap's Raptor, which required a bit of engineering effort to figure out a way to fix the flag with tie straps and gorilla tape, as I really didn't like the idea of sending Manish back at his very first drive just because of a missing flag. As soon as this artwork was completed with the help @GauravSoni we were ready to go trhough our briefing and eventually hit the sand by 6:30am. The first bit of the drive was quiet and easy, across the bushy and innocuous dunes of Mahafiz, until we reached the first play area were we could practice a few rounds of sidesloping: As we proceeded further east, we approached several other bowls where we indulged in more half-moon climbs, until I got crested in a moment of distraction trying to figure out the best way forward. On the last of these play areas @Ferl Brown's XTerra remained stuck on a slope and had to be winched down. Probably due to the high inclination and an excessive quantity of fluid in the circuit, the coolant of his engine had been overflowing and therefore spilling out, so once on the flat ground, we took a break to check that there were no leakages and that there was enough coolant to proceed the drive. After a good 30' break, we were able to move again and we quickly made our way to the glorious Long Dune. There we practiced as many half moon climbs as we could possibly think of, as can be seen from our track: As we moved further east, we eventually reached the pylon track on the west side of Fossil Rock and the new fence around the Natural Reserve there. Once on the south side of the fenced area, we had a chance to give a last glance to Fossil Rock, with the company of some very scenic camels: We then headed south, aiming at the evocative Camel Rock, where we stopped for a good convoy photograph: We then moved again, driving by the Sphynx and then entering Faya area: As we moved south, the sand got more and more soft and churned up, with tons of tracks from other convoys, which made our life way more difficult than expected. The convoy, however, was excellent, so we kept marching on with very few refusals and stucks along the way. Faya is a fantastic place, with higher and higher dunes that our Newbie convoy successfully climbed all the way to the south side, where @Prakash Anoop got crested at the edge of a nasty bowl, which required some shoveling and some maneuvering to get out of.. Eventually we made it to the famous Faya climb, which was as badly full of tracks and bumpy as I had never seen it, to the extent that none of us could make it to the top, so after a couple of attempts, we eventually made our way out to the tarmac on the Mahafiz - Kalba Road by 10:15. The convoy was excellent today: @Joji varghese was an excellent second lead, always careful and responsive to my instructions. Kudos! @Manish Kashyap was undoubtedly the star of the day: on his 1st Newbie Drive after the Absolute Newbie one, he found himself on the heights of Faya and made it through them like a pro in his blue Raptor. Well done for your 1st drive! Just remember to follow convoy discipline and stand still when the convoy halts for a stuck/refusal and to never overtake the car in front. @Waqar Sarwar is gaining confidence at every drive and did very well today in a challenging terrain like Faya with his Wrangler. Still some temptations to fight gravity here and there, but definitely a grest performance today. @Prakash AnoopAnoop had his 5 minutes of celebrity in that final bowl, when reversing out, but all is well what ends well. For the rest, some refusals today were totally part of the game, and they only demonstrate that you were pushing yourself to the best of your current capabilities. Keep up the good work! @Ferl Brown certainly won't need the gym today after performing an endless left & right steering recovery attempt when stuck on a side slope. Luckily your coolant issues were just an overflow, and I'm glad you could complete the drive, as otherwise you would have missed the best part of it! @Mohammed Mansoor is also showing great progress at every drive. Less fishtailing, less fighting gravity, better distancing. Keep it up, as you are doing great. @kiranshinde is coming to terms with his Y62. As with Mohammed, controlling fishtailing will be your most important achievement, as it is also the biggest challenge with your back heavy vehicle. For the rest, the car has tons of power, you just have to learn being less shy on the throttle! Well done today, it wasn't an easy one. @eldose baby pushed his Lexus where probably 95% of these luxury cars never get, and did it very well and effectively, with few hesitations only on churned up sand. @Raman_Dbx, quiet but sure at the back, came through everything that was thrown at him today, while still finding the time to enjoy the newly discovered landscape. @Rsjiv Samuel was an excellent Sweep at the back, always responsive on the radio, and never hesitant along the way, even when having to face incredibly churned up sand. Great job! We overall drove for 41.3km at an average moving speed of 15.3km/h, stopped for 1h 6' out of 3h 49' of total time spent from tarmac to tarmac. Great distance and pace for a Newbie Drive. Last but not least, a great thank you to @GauravSoni, on his 100th drive with @Carnity in just 365 days. Invaluable support as Center Forward, all over the place helping everyone, giving clear and effective instructions and meaningful insights during the drive. Fantastic! See you soon again in the sand!

Newbie level. We are 02 adults + 02 kids, aged 12 & 5yrs

With the tremendous increase in the number of COVID cases in the UAE, we all have to be responsible while off-roading. Failing to abide by any single precaution at any time during the drive, will result in an immediate ban from Carnity Off-road Club. ZERO TOLERANCE First offender - 1 Month Ban. Second offender - 3 Month Ban. Third offender - lifetime ban and report to authorities. COVID19 PRECAUTIONS 2.0 All Carnity off-road drives will be LIMITED to driving only: No Socializing and gathering allowed at any time. No break for taking photos, breakfast, smoking, etc. No exchanging of off-road or recovery gears. Wear a mask at all times, while outside your vehicle. For passengers restrictions, follow RTA or NCEMA guidelines. All passengers should be inside the car, at all times. Maintain a minimum of 2-meter social distance at all times. Sanitize your hands and recovery gear after use. PS1. If you and your passenger cannot sit inside your vehicle for 3-4 hours please DO NOT JOIN CARNITY DRIVES. PS2. A Member who has RSVP the drive is RESPONSIBLE and LIABLE for their passenger's compliance. PS3. The above precautions apply to everyone irrespective of their vaccination status or schedule. PS4. You can confidentially submit the photo of any offender by sending an email to [email protected]. How to comply Read the drive post before arriving at the meeting point, so that you know your convoy numbering and radio channel. Arrive at the meeting point and switch on your radio to the pre-set frequency of the drive. Stop your vehicle at least 10-20 meters away from each other. Deflate your tires, while wearing a mask, and then go back inside your car. All briefings will be done on the radio now, so pay full attention to a briefing for your own safety. After the briefing, fall in your convoy position just before the drive starts. While driving if you get stuck, announce on the radio and be inside your car at all times. Trip lead and/or support will guide you on the radio for self-recovery or tow-rope recovery. While there is a stuck or a refusal, everyone else supposed to be inside their car at all times. You can only take a bio-break during the drive, by requesting trip lead permission. Once the drive is over exit out to inflate by maintaining 10-20 meters distance from each other. While inflating, only the driver supposed to be out and with the face mask at all times. After the drive, you can talk on the radio for any feedback, suggestions or help you need.