Leaderboard

Fantastic morning out and a return to the sands after a couple of months for me. Thankyou to @JeromeFJ for leading us through the sands, and @Vanessa8580 for sweeping and supporting. Also well done to @Theo Prado for a very well executed second lead, following Jerome's instructions perfectly. Few "crestings" that allowed some teaching of where to dig and how to recover without ropes. Slight deviation from the track and into some soft sand @Lazy Frog had his first taste of sitting patiently at an angle while the team shovelled and secured the car. Well done for staying calm and eventually exiting the bowl, you got to understand how good the FJ really is! Well done to the rest of the convoy, keep trying to find balance between "on gas" and "off gas" to keep momentum and how just lifting off can slow the car and limited needs for brakes when navigating the dunes. See you again soon

Mark I have to say you using that keyring yesterday to secure that caliper was super quick thinking. And Davie that technique with the throttle and break combo was bloody good. It's the reason I love the drives - the problem solving. Really good drive you guys in front of me and behind that I could see nailed it honestly. I was just rummaging through my man cave under the stairs and found a roll of garden wire I'll be adding to my artillery for future situations we need to improvise 😂

@Lazy Frog, you did a great job remaining calm, listening and following the instructions from @JeromeFJ and @Rob S, especially when you got to the bottom of the bowl I though you did well when Jerome was repeatedly moving you back and forth for a safe exit. I also learnt from the scenario, see you on the next drive and hope you passenger had fun as well

Thank you @JeromeFJ, @Rob S, @Theo Prado, @Vanessa8580 for your guidance and passionate during the event, it was great opportunity to learn from you all. Beside the technicality (disable ATC, A Trac, which is so simple that I haven’t tried in the past). Safety is the utmost priority that is my biggest take away from driving this morning. Thank you all and I hope to see you again at the next drive.

Thank you @Srikumar @Kashx2 @J-P L @Mei Ling @Jose Luis Campos @Sam Selim for joining this morning’s drive. We met at the meeting point, and when I checked at 6:25, everyone was ready. Thank you for being on time. From the meeting point, we warmed up by gently riding the ridge on the left side of Pink Rock. As we got closer to Pink Rock, we found too many bad cross tracks, so we took a short break there. After that, we continued through the Pink Rock gate. Unfortunately for @Kashx2 he got a tire cut from a sharp rock. Thanks to the teamwork, the tire was changed very smoothly. The most exciting part was the journey towards Big Red—it flowed gently, dune after dune, with a nice rhythm. When we reached Big Red, the first climb was done easily, showing how well you all drove like it was your own backyard. Then we tried another climb from a different side, but it was a slip face, so we had some refusals along the way. I know someone still wanted to climb, will do it next time 😅. (The little navigator 👶) I’m really happy with this drive, the good teamwork, the journey filled with smiles, and most importantly, everyone exited safely. Big thanks to the support team @Srikumar, @J-P L and our sweeper @Sam Selim. See you all on the next drive!

It turned out quite nicely @Rajiv Sam!

Great drive, double bowl double fun. Please share some photos

Great fun! Thanks Emmanuel! , lkg fwd 4 the next 1

@Luke K P congratulations

DRIVE RSVP IS NOW CLOSED Gentlemen : @Dan S @Zahid Sharif @JC_E @Haneef Thayyil @nithish468 @Alex M @Aser @Andrew John Melvill @Senthil Kumar @Mike M. Thanks for signing up for this adventure! This one will be quite different from driving in the sand, but nevertheless we will be having fun As i mentioned prior on my drive post, please be aware of the following: This route will take you on steep climbs and descents and is not for the faint of heart ! Make sure your 4x4 is in tip-top condition. You will need all its power and it will run hot. Be ready to regularly switch to 4LO during steep climbs / descents. All-Terrain types are highly recommended. You might struggle with HT tyres. Do not join if you have any fear of heights. Max 2 passengers per vehicle allowed. Please carry packed snack - Coffee is on me - Mountains made and served hot When you arrive at the meeting point: - Deflate to 25 PSI only. - Off Road Flags : please dont mount them , we will adapt when necessary considering the terrain ( Don't kill me @Alex M ) We will be using Channel 2 - 446.031 Mhz See you all Tomorrow 6am ! Drive Safe ! Weather God hopefully will be in our favor ! In case needed : I will be reachable on 056 683 8510 WE WILL MISS YOU TOMORROW @Frederic Keep inspiring us ! !

Post-Drive Report: Fewbie Plus – Nahel Thank you all for arriving on time, deflated, and ready for the briefing this morning—with just one minor latecomer. Please do respect your fellow community members’ time and effort to arrive punctually and be ready to start the briefing at the designated time. A warm welcome to our new Fewbie Plus drivers, @Krinesh and @Diego. You both did really well on your first FB+ drive, adapting to the faster pace and handling the terrain confidently. Your spacing was mostly good, though this can be tightened up in future drives. You both had some great lines in Double Bowl—well done! @Aser, thank you for your excellent support in Centre Forward. You handled the minor refusals smoothly and your briefing at Double Bowl was especially appreciated. I’ve only been to this area once before, about a year ago, so your guidance was very helpful. @Jose Luis Campos, great job on second lead. You maintained the right amount of distance and reacted promptly to instructions, which helped the convoy adjust to new and improved lines. Your responsiveness made a big difference. @Zulfikhar Naiyar, thank you for Sweep today. You gave me the regular updates on what was happening back there and ensuring we were all together. There was only one point where up in the taller dunes we got separated though Aser kept you guys together and we were able to connect again after a short interval. We had just one stuck today, which we tried to recover with some shoveling and a couple of pulls, but the sand was just too soft. @Cesar Chacon and his winch came in especially handy and made quick work of the recovery—thank you! The drive featured a few technical patches and a few ridges, long sweeping slopes, and some sweet hill climbs. The teamwork during the recovery and the positive spirit throughout the convoy made for a fantastic start to the weekend. Thanks again for a great drive—enjoy the rest of your weekend and see you all next time! Here are the drive stats and our track from this mornings drive. We made a respectable distance during our time and the elevation chart reminds me of the fun hill climbs we had today. Here is the Relive video of our drive this morning. Enjoy! https://www.relive.com/view/vLqejDBGZRv

Thank you all for joining me this morning. Finally the weather starts to be nice, and it was a pleasure to start with open windows, gently strolling through the dunes with the morning light. Starting was easy but soon we hit the first challenge of the day, with a steep climb with little space for momentum, soft sand on the top, and a sharp edge to cross. 2 cars got stuck on the top, good opportunity to learn where to shovel, (team work, thank you all !) and to talk through what might be challenging when crossing a dune without knowing what is behind. After this warm-up we had a nice flow through bigger dunes, including riding some of the ridges, with nice views of the desert and sabkha around. After the break, we reached a more technical portion, with hidden soft sand patches and narrow dunes. On a tricky crossing, @Lazy Frog was missing a bit of momentum and was dragged into a small bowl with steep edges. A bit of a scary moment as the car was stopped with a steep angle, but again, an opportunity to learn how to recover. As the angle was increasing during shoveling and a first attempt, we secured the car with a strap to another car above, and with a combination of shoveling, and using the capabilities of the FJ (and its driver of course), he got out of the trap. We still had enough time to enter the Ghafeteen bowl and circle around, experiencing the steep descent, and we reached back to our entry point, with a last run at higher pace through the open dunes. Very well done everyone @Lazy Frog, @Aringga, @Menon Arun, @Walter Palk, our NB squad, @Ozgu and @Theo Prado and @Dan S went through the challenges as experienced drivers, with a special thank for my second lead @Theo Prado adjusting my lines when needed. Big thanks also to @Rob S and @Vanessa8580 supporting the drive and providing guidance as required.

Was a superb exciting drive throughout. Thank you @GauravSoni for leading. First time with you but lots of learnings. Thank you @ChrisW, @Faraz94, @Sam Selim for the support. See you again guys. Happy weekend.

@IshakSorry for the late update - I won’t be able to join the drive tommorow.