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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

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.

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%

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: Newbie and above When: 29 Jan 2023, Sunday. Meeting time: 2PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/g27XpBT9BcpeQdd59 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: 6PM P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE Limited to 12 cars only. RSVP will close on Friday, 2 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 CALENDAR

Convoy Numbering Srikumar Juan Sohini RK Ram Shine fareed Deepak LKP Lucas Deepak Rashid Vaibhav Terence Anoop Zubair We shall be using Carnity Channel 3 tomorrow (446.056). See you at the meeting point tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM

Hi, the drive is on. I will be posting the convoy order later tonight.

Thanks for informing @Bjoern, get well ❤️‍🩹 soon

@Beide Worku you have been added to the drive, please confirm your availability.

I was not there and my knowledge of winch recovery is theoretical ain’t practical . However probably you would need another raptor ( heavy powerful car ) to anchor the raptor still bit higher to offset the incline force as in the picture in order to keep it stable and not to be dragged as well . This would dissipate slightly the slightly lost advantage if positioned at the bush as you said . However the yellow Jeep would be at less risk to topple on the other hand too . . We need a winch day definitely 😅

Running 10 min late, sorry

@Varun Mehndiratta will have to remove myself due to family commitments unfortunately. This hopefully makes space for someone on the waitlist. Enjoy the drive !

Noted @Alexanderrr and @Imteeaz, see you next time

Hi @Imteeaz noted it’s your first drive of the week, extending the convoy to add you to the drive. Please confirm your availability. Hi @Beide Worku you were the first one to WL, however have to give preference to those with this being the only drive this weekend. Plus 12 is already a long convoy. If we will have a dropout, you will be added. Keep checking the forum, still a day to go.

@Dimitrios Kalogirou take care of self buddy and get well soon.

I can already see that winch day out gonna be a mind-bending exercise with so many great ideas, engineers and experts.

Me too although I don’t have a winch but very much interested

This was my life's first experience with a snatch block and based on theory and videos we should've placed FJ in between Raptor and Wrangler for 160-180 degree (most effective) pull. But not to let FJ slip in the same hellhole, I placed FJ at a 90-degree angle to maximize winching power by 1.5X if not double and also to use two car weights to anchor. With a single winch that recovery has reached its limit, as we have learned from Ranjan's winch hitting the max ceiling the previous night. And also when we remove the snatch block and FJ tried to pull alone, it really didn't move. My second observation if we somehow would have elevated the winch line by adding another car in between, the winch line would have taken a better load to pull than slicing through the dune. Just an afterthought...! We really need a winch day out to practice and learn what really works and what doesn't in real-life situations. I already have 5 sign up from winch owners, soon will plan a drive solely for this exercise and test all configurations.

Was trying to figure out what happened during the recovery of Anoops car, and found the following. In photo 1, which is showing the situation we had. We put the snatch block as shown. The FJ winch line was going around the snatch block pulley. This means the winch was the only pulling line, with a change of direction of the dead car load. This had added more load on the winch, leading to the failure of effective pull. The second photo, I think is the correct configuration we should have made. FJ should have been moved next to the raptor. The winch line should have been hooked to the raptor through the pulley. The snatch block reversed and connected to the wrangler. This way, the raptor and FJ will share the load. When we decided to have both FJ and @Ranjan Das winches together, with a direct connect to the wrangler, both winches power were fully utilized to pull the car. Does it make since @Gaurav. At the end great team work by all masters @Gaurav @Srikumar @Asif Hussain @Dodi Syahdar @GauravSoni @munkybizness @Tharun Kumar V @Bjoern @Waqas Parvez @ASAD. @Ishak @Santoso Marjuki @Vaibhav @Pacific @Sunil Mathew @Mario Cornejo

Dear Desert Drivers, Last update for the drive tomorrow. Meeting at 07:00 am at https://goo.gl/maps/3AP1mn7ovRJ42KDx9 The convoy order will be We will use Radio Channel 4 Drive safely to the meeting point in case the roads are still wet tomorrow morning. Enjoy the evening, take a good rest, and see you tomorrow morning !

@Shinebabu please confirm which 4x4 do you drive, whether your vehicle has tow points at the front and back. Do you have any previous offroading expereince? Please ensure that you go through the below video prior to coming for the drive : Hi Deepak, thanks for the introduction. Please ensure that you go through the below video before joining the drive

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.

I think he had plenty of food and water to enjoy the front seat on the recovery!! 😂 It would have been a human atrocity to keep him hungry while we enjoyed few snacks here and there! 😂😂😂😂

@Anoop Nair in Carnity we are a big huge family. There was no way we could leave anyone. Great minds like @Gaurav @Srikumar @Asif Hussain @Hisham Masaad @GauravSoni made this possible. This was a great experience and learning for everyone present. Hats off to you for sitting in that car in the same angle for more that 4 hours without water and food.

Good morning everyone, the weekend was an eye opener and a perfect example of 'we always need to expect the unexpected in the desert'. The failure of my clutch cylinder was completely unexpected as I had a safety check on the previous week and I also used to check underneath the jeep every day to see if there is any leakage and there was none. Also, this has happened almost at the exact midway of the track next to the Saudi border made the task very difficult. But, the presence of all of our most experienced off roaders @Gaurav @Srikumar@Asif Hussain @GauravSoni @Hisham Masaad with us gave me relief and hope. and the rest is history! There were moments which was scary and felt like the car will slowly topple over but with improvisation, on the spot thinking and teamwork the car came out. The inclined position without seat belt has given me a stomach cramp. Another incident to note is that the last pull from raptor has sheared off the cast iron recovery point from the Jeep. Due to @Gaurav doubling down on safety and securing it separately it did not fly off and hurt anyone. This highlights the importance of practicing all the safety procedures during a recovery. I would like to thank each and every convoy member who gave me confidence such as @GauravSoni who said will not leave here without the car and otherwise we will camp there itself @munkybizness who accommodated and fed me during the night, and all the shovelling boys. I am sorry that @Tharun Kumar V @Bjoern has to miss out on their planned drives, but I am really appreciative of you being there at the recovery. Again, a big thanks to @Gaurav @Srikumar (who had to leave his son in the other car to lead this recovery) @Asif Hussain @Hisham Masaad @Ranjan Das @Dodi Syahdar @Bjoern all others for doing this and bringing the car (and me) out without any major issues. Just for update, the recovery truck came around 11.50pm that night and I reached home with the car around 5am. Now it's in workshop and the issues are expected to be rectified in a week-10 days time. See you soon on sand. Anoop

Noted. Will remove from Manage tab. If you wish to join you can select going

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.

This used to be my favourite story to tell in pre-Covid times. I'm sure many of you are interested but many are too shy to ask and some can't find the words or think it's inappropriate to question on that. It's not so bad a question and it's all about friends making new friends and passing on the skills we acquired in over a decade of off roading each. Thanks to Dr @Chaitanya D for asking and @Desert Dweller reminiscing those good old pre-Covid days. @Gaurav bhai is my senior and has been in the desert for maybe 14 years if I'm not mistaken. I just completed 12 years in the wilderness. For @Gaurav bhai he caught up with life and some difficult decisions trying to nurture Carnity since 2010. While I continued to learn where he left off. At one point he supported me in my initiatives and events and started coming back to off-road regularly. He hadn't lost what he had learned since we learned things the hard way. @Carnity started up thanks to his Mitsubishi Pajero which he never gave up on. In 2010 if you googled up your car issues we would just see websites from either USA or South Africa or Australia. Another thing was the Pajero never made it to USA and was known as Shogun or Montero in other places. The biggest concern was these other model specs would be built slightly differently not allowing us to understand or work on our own cars. @Carnity became the first website to share information on GCC spec cars, proudly it is the only one to date in the Middle East. Back in late 2016 when I got really interested and started sharing information about my cars and checking regularly for updates and advise for my Nissan Pathfinder R50, I saw some interest in members for off-roading. I asked @Gaurav bhai if we could start an off-road club to which he was not sure. But after several discussions and couple of months of heated arguments we came to an agreement. @Gaurav bhai proposed I post 3 drives at different locations and he would support me. If we had interested members coming out to drive we would form our club or I would never mention it again. Agreement made. Our first official drive was on 27 Jan 2017. @Srikumar was on that fist drive and never look back. This and all 3 drives went full and soon we had enthusiasts and that's how the @Carnity off-road came to existence. Initially it was all about creating awareness about the different aspects of off-roading and passing on the skills and the art to fellow off-roaders. But the only constant thing in life is change. Thanks to @Gaurav bhai who thought we needed to put the structure into words. Although it might seem that I am a man of many words, but putting the technical details to words is what @Gaurav bhai did best. Revising the structure and improving with every drive became our passion. The newly joined off-roaders seeing things from a different angle became our strength. I'm very pleased to be coming close to 500 members in the club and how each one of you have contributed and made the @Carnity off-road club a success story. Each member brings their own flavour with their experience, culture and point of view as we have over 40 nationalities coming out every week to help us grow this common passion for this ever growing sport of off-roading. We have been through many hardships and difficult decisions. But together we are proud to make the decisions best for everyone's well being. One such challenge was Covid19 which we are still all trying to deal with on a daily basis in all aspects of our lives. We at @Carnity made a decision to be the first club to introduce drives with the Covid19 restrictions in place. Our community who understands and stands by our decisions are our strength to continue doing so in the toughest of times. Love our community and love each and everyone of the members striving to wake up at 3 am for drives posted at 5 am. For taking pics and videos and sharing it on @Carnity and their social media channels and making @Carnity popular among family and friends. My sincere thanks to all of you who read it through. It's your efforts that makes us stand out among a sea of clubs.

Hello @Varun Mehndiratta. I have to leave the drive tomorrow as i am not feeling well. Sorry and enjoy the drive 🙏🙏

@Chaitanya D sorry, having a really bad cold and I don't think I will be fit enough tomorrow. Have a great drive!

Hi @Ale Vallecchiand @Vanessa8580I am not feeling well. Can't attend the drive. 😪.

Hey team! @Vanessa8580 I had an injury at the gym a while ago and twisted my ankle. I won’t be able to join you tomorrow. I’m really sorry and hoping to drive with you soon 🙏🙏