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Thanks @Vanessa8580 for giving me the opportunity to join your convoy on such a short notice .. it was great meeting yo, @Ale Vallecchi, and the entire group today and be back on the sand after such a long break. Hopefully the blue X is back on the sand soon too. A huge applause to everyone on both convoys today for the great team work and the outstanding support during the recovery.. you guys all rock.. looking forward for driving with you all soon

What a great drive today ! First, the cool weather. Enjoying the cold breeze, and this humidity feeling is so rare in this country, it was like a winter (ok, autumn maybe) day in the mountains ! An empty desert; we crossed only one convoy, that is very minimal for Sweihan on a weekend. Then the sand conditions. The sand was still soaked with water and it made the driving so special. solid and heavy at first sight, but very easily loosing the grip, and becoming slippery like mud. Then a small group of very capable drivers, ready to tackle the obstacles with determination, but aware of the conditions, and cautious in their driving. We started directly on the high dunes close to the road, and with the first steep criss crossings, we rapidly realised that this wet sand was making a real difference. After the first 3-4 cars, reaching the ridge was becoming a challenge for the rest of the convoy. With some adjustment to our driving we continued to explore the area, enjoying the empty dunes and ridges. With only minor stucks, 1 car crested, 1 pop-out and a few re-attemps on crossings, we made our way to the Old Lady Dune, stopping en route for some high climbs. The heavy and rolling sand made the descends challenging also as it was more difficult than usual to slow down the cars and to control the fishtailing. The breathtaking view from the top of the dune was the final reward of the drive ! @Joji varghese, thank you for the 2nd lead, perfectly executed, @Salim Akhtar, kudos for your first IM drive, nobody noticed it was the first one !, @Simon D the roaring of a Y62 inside a Pajero is always amazing, Angela @Foxtrot Oscar it was a pleasure to have you in the drive, @Amr Aydin, very precise driving as usual, @Rajiv Sam nice to have a 2nd FJ in the group, @Beide Worku, excellent job handling the heavy truck in these conditions, @MMansoor congratulations for managing the sweep in the churned tracks ! I couldn't take pictures, please post some photos if you have. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and see you soon.

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi and everyone for a great drive today. And @Vanessa8580 hopefully you and the X-terra can recover soon and back on the sand dunes. Wish you all the best. The last 5 cars drive was amazing. See you all again next time.

Dear Tune Squad Sun is already shining bright and forecast looks amazing for tomo. I have some engagement later in eve today, so here's the convoy order and other key details for the drive. In case of any changes we will address it during our briefing. Meeting Time : 7am (sharp without any exception) Tune Squad will be communicating on Radio Channel 3, ensure your radios are fully charged and so are you Meeting Location : https://goo.gl/maps/WbWFK5iwurzey1dF8 Faqa in general has an extra terrestrial mystery to it and with rain its really going to be some nice fun. So ensure you are well rested and well hydrated as this terrain will surely test the best of our skills and attention. We surely don’t want this - Tune Squad Order - We have very good mix of rides, driver experience in our convoy. Being a long convoy and with this mix, we will follow the platoon concept. Those who have driven earlier with me am sure know it, for rest, will share the details during our briefing. Also, if all goes good, will see if we can have a rotation in convoy order through the drive, so that all can experience being at diff position and fun it brings with it. 1. Varun in Rubicon 2. @Jona in FJC will be our SL 3. @Pierre de Maigret in FJC 4. @Chris Wing in FJC will be our 1st Platoon leader. 5. @Richard Franks in Red Wrangler 6. @Patrick van der Loo in black jeep 7. @Davie Chase in his Red Rubicon will be our 2nd Platoon leader as well as CF for the drive. 8. @Felix Obst in his white wrangler 9. @Brett Eicher have heard so many stories of this awesome Red Cherry, looking forward to check what's under that hood 10. @Imteeaz with his Super Safari will be our 3rd Platoon leader. 11. @Ali Abas adds the bling to convoy with his Lexus 12. @Beide Worku on his F150 will sweep the squad. See you all there tomo.

Yup agree with you @Frans M. Thank you @Ale Vallecchi. @Vanessa8580, happy to see you was up and walking around.

We request every member that joins this drive to go through the below information and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquettes and responsibilities. MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities DRIVE DETAILS Level: Intermediate and above When: Feb 5th 2023, Sunday Meeting time: 7:00 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AmJxD6zntewNoz8EA Approximate finish time: 4:00 PM Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Mandatory off-road gears: Tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit, Tow Rope, 2 Shackles and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 6 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 9 AM If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list. RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list. Latecomers will be returned 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 BELOW CALENDAR

Where will we meet @Varun Mehndiratta?

Let’s see haven’t reviewed the convoy order yet, in general I always plan for a rotation in convoy order through the drive. Hopefully will be able to plan something this time around as well.

@Varun Mehndirattathnks for adding me. confirmed. cheers

Thanks varun;) confirmed, would be nice to do sweep if possible:p

Considering the situation in hind sight, one can always introspect. During the recovery, one option discussed was to position the raptor at a higher position (near the bush) while keeping the winching car a little closer to the slip face. I don’t remember the reason why it was not attempted, but now it certainly looks like could have been worth a try.

That’s it . Redirection of pull force @Gaurav When is the plan please for the winch day ? Already revising some Polly physics , I don’t know why I used to hate at school/first year college time but kinda love it now 🤣

Adding my 2 cents to the discussion, eventhough i was not able to participate in this epic recovery. Had to be home by late evening , as family had planned something assuming my attendance if pulling force multiplication was our intention , above was how it should have been rigged, as @Hisham Masaad mentioned The way it is rigged in the photo, only serves to re-direct the pull, and not mulitply it. The static line is to be connected to the pulled load (wrangler) , and the pulling lines should be maximum parallel to each other for 2x multiplication. Any other included angle would only reduce the resultant force on the static line, reaching 1x at 90degree included angle. hope i am not being too technical here. In such case, when pulling line/winch line moves 1mtr, snatch block moves 0.5 mtr only Also, snatch block rating should be twice winch pull

Now let's factor the 60-70 meter distance and the winch line is 30 meters, and tow ropes can't go through the snatch block. Welcome to liwa dunes, lol.

I am trying to visualize the situation and based on the pic and drawing my understanding is that the purpose of using the snatch block was for leverage and not force redirection.. so based on that understanding I believe the best position of the snatch block would be directly connected to the dead car (Snoop’s in the case), and the winch rope would go around the snatch block back to the winching car or another car as anchor.. this would give leverage almost doubling the force on the dead car and reduce helge stress on the winch .. can’t wait to play with this and apply to different scenarios when we meet

Thanks for informing @Bjoern, get well ❤️‍🩹 soon

Noted @Alexanderrr and @Imteeaz, see you next time

Liwa crossing is always an exciting chapter for any offroader, but this year IM drive has seen a lot more challenging situations that I have not yet witnessed in my decades of experience. We all learn new things every day. In case of any mechanical failure, we always try to rescue the car as much as we can. If we cannot manage the recovery of the vehicle, car owners have to rely on a more professional approach of calling the tow truck or returning back with a mechanic to fix the issue on-site. Yes, we never leave any driver behind, but on some occasions, we have left the car inside the desert as per our roles and responsibilities to keep everyone safe. Thanks to @Dodi Syahdar Raptor's presence whose beast mode is able to drag the dead car through Liwa's enormous dunes. However, luck ended too fast when we were unable to swing past the soft sand patch after multiple failed attempts. Without a rolling momentum, Raptor's beast mode wasn't able to activate again due to extra soft sand all around. Hence we left with a winching option for the last leg and that went in for good 12+ hours, simply because the angle of the dead car was against all physics, and pulling through slip face + wedge pocket made it our worst nightmare. Thanks to @Ranjan Das winch we were able to drag the dead car a little bit uphill, but when the car started to slip into the pocket at night, we left the recovery to restart again with more winches and energy. Thanks @Hisham Masaad and @Bjoern for supporting this extreme recovery with your powerful winches, patience and determination. Without so many winches at hand and 10-15 ropes, this recovery wouldn't have been possible. After the previous night's challenge, we straight away launched the heavy-duty idea to introduce a snatch block with a Hisham winch to 1.5X the winching power at 90 degrees angled pull, through Raptor heavyweight to anchor. It did its magic and failed when the car started to tip off on two wheels, so we secured the B pillar with @Bjoern winch on the right side steep climb. Then after a little while 1.5X winch also failed as the car was getting into the wedge with an even steeper angle to deal with. Now we double down the winch by adding Ranjan's winch to the equation and finally saw the "Yellow Jeep" crawling up the hellhole. It was an unforgettable experience of my life. Thanks @Srikumar, @Asif Hussain and @GauravSoni for all the tactical support, critical thinking and impeccable leadership to deal with this EPIC extreme recovery through Liwa's enormous dunes. Thanks to @Waqas Parvez @Vaibhav @ASAD. @Pacific and @munkybizness for being there at the backend. Big thanks and shout out to @Ishak @Santoso Marjuki @Tharun Kumar V and Asif bhai's friend - Asif for offering EXEMPLARY SUPPORT by handling the most grueling and physically taxing need of attaching and detaching 10's of tow rope multiple times on huge Liwa dunes slip face with soft sand. Without your all great teamwork, this extreme recovery wouldn't have been possible.

While we have been enjoying night drives in this hot summer, it is important we are well aware as to what needs to be done in case of a creeper bite in the dark. Desert is their home and we are the "invaders" , and hence instinctively they can bite us in self defense. Scorpions and snakes are more active at night and hence it is required you know what needs to be done when this can occur SNAKES: a quick pictorial review of snakes which can be found in UAE. Snakes can be venomous (Poisonous) and non venomous(Non poisonous) Non venomous 1. Blind Snake Non venomous 2. Thread Snake Non venomous 3. Sand Boa Non venomous 4. Wadi Racer Non venomous 5. False Cobra Non venomous 6. Sand racer - Hissing snake Non venomous Venomous Snakes - Poisonous - the Triangular faced Vipers are dangerous which are the only poisonous snakes found in UAE 1. Saw Scaled Viper - Poisonous 2. Sand Viper - Poisonous 3. False Horned Viper -Poisonous Vipers are the only venomous snakes in the UAE, and are found mostly in desert and rocky mountain areas. Snake bites are extremely rare, and most occur when a snake is picked up/ felt it is in danger. The Venom from UAE Vipers is Haemotoxic (destroys blood cells) Sometimes puncture wounds can be seen at site of the bite. Bite is generally not very painful but within one hour copious bleeding is likely from the bite wound and any other wounds cuts or scratches the victim may have. Symptoms include a severe headache, nausea and vomiting. It’s helpful to restrict the blood and lymphatic flow, but it’s important not to cause bruising which can lead to bleeding under the skin. If Venom is spat in to a person’s eyes use any liquid available, preferably a neutral one such as water or milk – but anything at all will do, to flush out the eye. Do's and Don'ts of Treating Snake Bite Symptoms usually manifest soon after a snake bite, so observing the victim is extremely important. If no symptoms have occurred within half an hour of the bite then indications would be that it was not a venomous snake, it failed to inject any venom or the snake was very old and had little or no venom left. Do Try to identify the snake; color, size, shape of head, attacking method are useful. Take a picture with mobile if feasible but don't chase the snake. Loosen the Victim’s clothing and move them in to comfort. Keep the victim calm and still; movement will increase blood flow and transport the venom to the heart much faster. Immobilize the limb but do NOT restrict blood flow unless you are certain the bite was from a snake that delivers neurotoxic venom. Clean and dress the wound being careful not to apply pressure and cause bruising. Inform the trip lead/support IMMEDIATELY so that he/she can manage a exit quickly to the tarmac. Do Not While there can be differences of opinion as to what we should do for snake bites the consensus of opinion as to what not to do is reasonably consistent: Allow the victim to exercise or stress themselves. Cut the bite or attempt to suck the venom out. Give the victim anything to eat or drink especially alcohol. Use potassium permanganate crystals or solution near or on the bite wound. Use soapy water round the bite wound. Leave pressure bandages on too long. Leave the victim alone. Apply ice to the wound. Soak the affected limb in any solutions. How to avoid this extremely rare occurrence in the desert on Night drives 1. Compulsorily wear thicker full pants and ankle boots. Least being a full covered shoes. Coming in shorts and flip flops/slippers means you are voluntarily increasing the risk 2. Refrain from walking in bushy areas . 3. In a unusual scenario of shovelling near bushes make sure you have a clearly lit area to make sure there aren't any . 4. Please use a bright torch and look where you step while taking biobreaks! Do not take biobreaks near bushes. Safer you stay inside your vehicle at all times , unless needed. SCORPIONS: Scorpion stings are painful but rarely life-threatening. There are about 25 species of scorpion in the UAE, two of which are known to release venom that can lead to nausea, shock and irregular heartbeat. 1. Fat Tailed Scorpion - large and Black 2. Deathstalker - Smaller (about 5 cm) and Yellow in color - More Dangerous Signs and symptoms at the site of a scorpion sting may include: Pain, which can be intense Numbness and tingling Slight swelling Warmth What to Do in case of a bite Identify if possible , or take a picture Announce immediately for quicker exit How to avoid this occurrence in the desert on Night drives 1. Compulsorily wear thicker full pants and ankle boots. Least being a full covered shoes. Coming in shorts and flip flops/slippers means you are voluntarily increasing the risk 2. Refrain from walking in bushy areas . 3. In a unusual scenario of shovelling near bushes make sure you have a clearly lit area to make sure there aren't any . 4. Please use a bright torch and look where you step while taking biobreaks! Do not take biobreaks near bushes . Safer you stay inside your vehicle at all times , unless needed.