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TRIP REPORT An almost perfect drive, that's what it was. I had reached the meeting point at 4:35 AM. Was pleasantly surprised to see that already few cars had reached by then, with all the remaining cars arriving at the meeting point before 5:00 AM. A reminder to everyone that as our Club is growing rapidly we are having multiple drives in same areas. So it's important to arrive at the exact meeting point mentioned on the drive thread. I got to know after the drive that @VipinShetty despite being on time was at the wrong meeting point with the other convoy. After completing the Newbie Briefing we entered the desert. @Biju Abdul who was recently promoted to Fewbie was my second lead and he maintained the perfect distance from me to reroute as and when needed. @Enoch Mbatiah and @Ammar Naji were immediately behind the second lead and though they had some initial refusals and stucks in the soft sands you could see their confidence and control growing as the drive went along. Also I was happy to see Enoch self recover himself by some quick steering movements and get himself out of a soft patch. Well done guys. After getting through the initial patch of dunes we headed towards the long range dunes were there was plenty of opportunity for side slopping. Such was the convoy response that I guess we had practically done a side slope on every possible dune from both sides. @Tero Vallas was in his Prado and he was gliding through the dunes and the highlight moment was when crawled himself out from a churned up area. The Wrangler boys @h1fny @Neale Faulkner @Edgar @miguel @Hennie Schoeman all did exceeding well and it seemed they have had lots of fun at the back of the convoy. @Mukundan Nair didn't hear much from you on the radio and that for me is a good sign that all was well. It was good to see @topgear and his overly enthusiastic son again. You are a good learner and it's nice to see that you are putting the instructions given by Vanessa to practice. Congratulations to @Chaitanya D for successfully recovering the stuck cars in his first attempt. Appreciate the support towards the drive. A big shout out to @Vanessa8580 for keeping an eagle's eye on the entire convoy and giving the guidance to the drivers as and when needed. Bravo. See you guys next weekend on the sand.

David & Goliath It's been a while since I drove in an Absolute Newbie drive. It's amazing that 8 months ago, me and @Jeepie sat anxiously in out TJ waiting for the drive to start and having no idea what was to come. Yes, I have driven off road a lot in Europe, but mud and water are quite different to sand. Watching a new crop of potential leaders starting their carnity journey was amazing, from the first tentative meters of 'wow, this sand is really slippy' to getting over and through the first crest and then driving in the desert tracks for a few hours reminded me of the absolute elation I felt then that I had found my 'thing'. Eight months later I am planning and leading drives. Guys, each one of you has the potential to be the next Carnity leader and find yourself buzzing through the desert helping out with recoveries and stucks. @Ashok chaturvedi what a brilliant day to follow. You really did well. @mathewjo you need to understand that the car is a lot less scred then you. @Ashy you drive a veritable beast - if the electronics can be sorted, you'll find it less challenging. Four jeeps - OK I am a little biased. @Arun Mathew @muzamil hussain @Andrei @Kailas little jeeps can be simply the most fun out there. You probably noticed, ours is totally unmodified: so it ours can make it, so can yours! And then came the big boys. @Ajiesh George Kannankara taking a Y62 into the dunes - all that power well managed. @Jinesh Thomas I think you had a lot of fun once you realised that the FJ is really capable. @Sajit Modiyil like Freddie says, you need less pressure in the tires, then that Xterra (a Nismo - no less I noticed) will be crusing through the sand with ease. And then there's @Erwin van Helden The name translates from the original Dutch to 'from heroes' and frankly taking your H2 out and handling like you did, there's something in your blood because of that name. Yes, you gave me and the TJ our moment of pleasure in the David & Goliath battle to free you from the sand, but otherwise you drove faultlessly and I am waiting for your return to see more of what that monster can do. Have a lovely week. See you soon in the sand.

Return Match At Lisali - Lisali 1: Carnity 1 What a difference a week makes ... and finding the entry point that is 1km further up the track where the technical dunes are a little bit less treacherous. @Frederic had found the entry point that cleared the technical dunes in 4 minutes rather than 4 hours and we were all able to enjoy the sweeping dunes and vistas of Lisali, all the way up to Al Qudra where @tjsingh started to have overheating problems and had to be left by the roadside waiting a pick up. Highlights of the day? @J J showing his skills of centre forward, @Nizam Deen woking hard to get his own pop out sorted, @Adam Marston getting through without any issues at all the whole day and @Brette finding out that the chip in the mighty beast is now under control. As second lead I enjoyed a nice relaxing drive following Freddie's excellent (as always) lead - so goo infact we had time for a little Qudra bonus before closing out the drive. See you soon in the sand.

Little Sweihan - The side-sloping bonanza. Every desert drive has its unknowns. This time it was first @Tbone then @Emmanuel turn to succumb to car problems, and have to renounce the trip. The heart-breaker was Emmanuel's, who had to leave the drive just after deflating: we hope the car is OK. With perfect punctuality we set out, in a revised convoy order, with @Kalahari taking Second Lead duties, @Febin Frederic in third, @Chaitanya D in a comfortable #4 spot for his first Intermediate drive, then @Rinelle Sanaani in Sweep. We aimed to reach the northern limits of Little Sweihan through the sand track surrounding the expanses of sabkhas and technical dunes that separate Solar Park from our destination. We then entered our playground following the trail of a huge oryx herd, and set out to ride the tight and long dunes' cordons, drawing a zig-zagging line, from our entry point toward the area's western border (the base of Little Sweihan "triangle") and back east-ward, toward the apex of the triangle. The driving was smooth, up and down the long, tight, dunes, with countless opportunities for back-to-back-to-back side-sloping. While we did some crossings from the windswept side of the dunes, we were somewhat limited in this practice by a strong wind, sweeping the crests, and reducing the readability of their ridges. In fact, the only stucks were on 2 ridges, with one brilliant self-recovery by Rinelle, and a well executed tug by Febin to drag Kalahari back from a very sharp and short ridge. With a few minutes more on the clock, once almost at the tip of Little Swaihan's triangle, we crossed over to the dunes just east of it, and continued driving, until we had to reverse, and cross the slipside of the dunes to reach our exit track back to Solar Park. Very good drive by all: @Kalahari - you are now a very solid Second Lead, redirecting properly even when i was struggling to reach my radio and announce the correction: mind reader @Febin Frederic - great energy and enthusiasm in the recovery efforts. You learned very quickly to evaluate the situation, and improved immediately your communication skills: rescue specialist @Chaitanya D - very impressive first Intermediate drive, always in control, always on track, helpful as well in guiding Rinelle's self recovery: Doctor Cool @Rinelle Sanaani - you were hardly heard during the drive, which means you handled the softened up, churned tracks without a peep, and great skills: guardian angel in the end, we executed a 69.9 Km drive in 2:54 h, at an average speed of 24Km/h (average moving speeed of 29 Km/h). Thanks to all, and see you soon.

Congratulations to all members who have recently been promoted to higher levels in the off-road world! However, can Carnity Admin not create a dedicated announcement thread/channel/forum for these announcements? I only speak for myself when I say that I do not visit Carnity as often as I used to simply because I don't want to wade through long lists of promotion announcements before I get to something worth reading/discussing. I am, however, reasonably confident that many other members find these announcements clogging up the discussion part of the forum equally irritating. So how about it, Admin?

Great drive route from @Frederic and support from @Brette. Everyone did great on this drive I initially thought Lisaili was going to be challenging based on what I heard from last week .. but yeah Lisaili conquered ! Posted some pics already and below video timelapse . Enjoy !

Thank you @Frederic and Richard for the support and nice drive. I did not expect that you would take us to the dunes in the first day but you took us there and it was really exciting and enjoyable. Thank you all and see you soon.

Another amazing video production! I saw us even driving backwards at one point 🤣

Thanks a lot @Srikumar for a wonderful ride. Yes totally agree that we did a lot of side slopping this time and I guess almost everyone got so comfortable with it by now. It was a great experience to ride as second lead, I had to be so focused because I shouldn’t be judging the challenge in front of me by seeing how seamlessly you pass through it 😀

@Gaurav @Wrangeld@Anish S @Janarthan @Rahimdad @Tbone @Frederic @Chaitanya D Thank you guys for the promotion, just saw the message now. I am really glad I joined this group, learning lots from the professionals here! Going for some holidays outside of this heat so I will rejoin adventures in three weeks, on fewbie this time 😃. Cant wait! See you all soon.

Thanks Emmanuel. It was a fantastic drive and enjoyed well. its makes me more confident with my car to reached the top of the bowl without any hassle .

DRIVE REPORT Since @Lucky sAm had to cancel his participation (we hope that he will recover very soon), we were only 5 cars. Of course we love to have long convoys, but from time to time it's also nice to enjoy that kind of sweet little drive. Thanks @Jolly Abraham, @RohanH, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe and @AKR for managing very well and making this drive smooth and fun. All 4 cars were already waiting at 2nd December Cafeteria when I arrived about 10 minutes before meeting time, and most of them were already deflated, ready to move. After a quick briefing, as the daylight was on his way, we started gently heading to Pink rock, then, increasing the pace a bit, we found ourselves at the rear of Big Red in no time. After playing a bit on this lovely set of high dunes, we reached Big Red, and everyone reached the top from the back side, including @Jolly Abraham, my excellent second lead, who always impresses me with his 2.7L Fortuner. Unfortunately, we had to exit @AKR, who was sweeping, at Badayer, because his transmission was overheating and didn't cool down after he switched off the engine for some time. We headed back, in direction of Pink Rock with an even smaller convoy of 4 cars. It was a perfect opportunity to increase the pace and get closer to the intermediate level, which we gradually did as everyone seemed to me comfortable. @RohanH, who clearly gained some confidence since last time I saw him driving, only had a few refusals and one cresting during the all drive. Well done ! @Jorge Stepniak Felippe didn't struggle at all, I guess. Maybe he would just need a bit of practice in crisscrossing. Well, his LR4 wouldn't exactly agree on this last point : while we were getting closer to Pink Rock at good speed, Jorge announced on radio that his lateral airbags had deployed. Probably the car computer misread what is actually supposed to happen during a crisscross : a quick change in angles. Now you understand Jorge why in our newbie briefing, we ask drivers to disable the SRS. Sorry that you learnt it the hard way... After this incident, as it was almost time, I decided to finish the drive at slower pace and to exit at Nazwa. In spite of AKR's transmission overheating and Jorge's airbag incident, it's been a very nice drive. Congratulations everyone. Hasta la vista.

@Ale Vallecchi thank u so much for a wonderful and cool lead.. ur the DUNE MASTER.. U read the dunes like a book.. ur knowledflge od the dunes amd terrains is pretty impressive.. Its always fun to follw the lead of the Dune Master

@FredericThank you so much for leading the team, it was full of joy and pleasant being member of the the team last week. and thank you everyone being on-time

@Frederik Bisbjerg @Ashok chaturvedi @mathewjo @Ashy @SureshVNair @Arun Mathew @muzamil hussain @Andrei @Kailas @Ajiesh George Kannankara @Jinesh Thomas @Sajit Modiyil @Erwin van Helden Please join Carnity Drive Notification - Whatsapp Group for getting all the drive notifications. Carnity Drive Notification

Hands down .. one of the best terrain and routes , I have driven with carnity. Great lead by @Gaurav taking the fewbies into this terrain , had some real metal pants Very good support from @Tbone and yes , too bad we were just half a km from Iftaar Bowl - have to leave something exciting for next time anyway ! I must also say were impressed with @Anish S and @Pancho who were mostly in front of me , on how they have handled their vehicles in this route. Posted some pics and the below timelapse .. where you ll mostly see @Pancho , but yeah there were so many good moments - I had a hard time to choose and compress this to 2 minutes .

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for a thrilling fast drive through the dunes in little sweihan. Smallish group but everyone had fun, well driven by everyone at good pace. Drives in full sync with their cars potentials , all the challenges managed very well especially by @Kalahari. Always helpful @Febin Frederic and a nice self recovery by @Rinelle Sanaani 👍 @Emmanuel I hope your car is sorted soon, it was sad to see you go back after coming all the way to the starting point.

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 MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST Two Way Radio Guidelines Every Offroader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic. We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving. Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops... No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it. MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: Newbie, Absolute Newbie and Above (All Levels) When: 07 Aug 2020, Friday. Meeting time: 5:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: 2nd Dec Cafeteria - https://goo.gl/maps/MxnMF2fHeGnKZ4vf7 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: 09:00 AM End Point: Tawi Nazwa P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 15 cars only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. 1 Lead Marshal + 1-2 Senior Members + 13 Members. 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 CALENDAR EVENT

@Edgar you are waitlist #1

I agree with you. Topics and discussion are being pushed away by upgrade notifications. With the growth of the offroad club section, the strength of an independent informative forum fades away.

Dear Fredric, A big thank you for you and your mate for total commitment to aid drivers at all time. Just a comment on tyre pressure yes most of the time the pressure guages are not very accurate but another aspect is also the heat which expands the air and can raise the tyre pressure by several bars. It would be a good idea to take a break and check the pressures. Just a suggestion

Congratulations @Heisem

Congratulations @Heisem, well done...

Hey @VipinShetty, Congratulations, well done bro...

Congratulations @Islam Soliman for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Congratulations @Heisem for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your last newbie drive you have demonstrated skills required deserving this new offroad rank. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Once you have all the required off-road gear, you are most welcome to join the Fewbie Level Drives with Carnity Off-road Club. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Number of drives 10 (16 Newbie + Fewbie drives) Level of drives Willingness to learn + Enthusiasm + Basic dune reading Off-road gear Flag, deflator, tire gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio, compressor. Drive teamwork Observe recovery from a safe distance and offer help when needed Drive posting/joining Join newbie and fewbie level of drives only Forum participation Active participation on forum. Share drive experience + feedback on forum and pictures in gallery Forum participation and helping with community spirit is recommended for faster upgrades at all levels. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the Emergency contact details.

Because this drive got filled within 19 minutes. Please join Carnity Drive Notification - Whatsapp Group for getting all the drive notifications in advance. If you still like to join this drive, please add a comment below requesting trip lead to wait list your name like Ammar Naji has done it above.

After a short break, F1 is back at the classic Silverstone circuit this weekend and the race will be starting in a couple of minutes. Always nice to watch the British GP.

Congrats @Christian Andras

@Frederic Apologies... many things went wrong... No excuses, will make it all right and get my gear straight in time for the next drive. regret the inconvenience caused. Hope to join you soon on a new newbie drive. regards

Very good point Ashok, yes in general it will go up 2-3 psi after two hours in summer. We started at 15psi in the morning but the sand in that area is very soft and we had to further bring it down to 12psi on most cars.

Congratulations @Heisem well deserved.

Congratulations @Biju Abdul

Congratulations @Biju Abdul

Congratulations @Islam Soliman, well done...

Thank you ☺️ and also thank you so much for the wooden plank, highly appreciated...

I totally agree with you @Rahimdad. Indeed very good detective @Veedooshee, i am permanently under scrutiny 😬, just imagine....😄

Congratulations @VipinShetty!

Congrats @VipinShetty. Well done !!!

Congrats @Heisem!!!!

DRIVE REPORT Another lovely day in the Al Qudra sands.... I was glad to see so many new faces, all ready to hit the sand and learn the essentials during this drive. Most arrived well before 05:00 so me and @Wrangeld could help them with deflating. We always try to leave as early as possible to have the maximum drive time in the sand, so please try to arrive before 5:00 so you have ample time to deflate and receive the convoy instructions or ask to help for the radio and other details. @SureshVNair you either forgot to set your alarm, or went to the wrong meeting point, as we did not see you nor you informed us that you could not make it. Shame as this spot could have been taken by someone else. @Ashok chaturvedi was my second lead and drove very well, steering the Pajero LWB perfectly on the right track, and keeping a watchful eye on @mathewjo behind him, who drove well but will need to overcome the fear of pushing the car a little bit more, and that initial fear of the other side when crossing a dune is totally normal and will take a few drives before that settles. @Ashy with the JGC managed well, this is not the easiest car to learn and i suspect there is lots of electronics holding the car back. @Arun Mathew with the Green Jeep Wrangler struggled a bit initially, but after lowering the tyre pressure a bit you improved a lot. I hope the overheating alarm did not came back. @muzamil hussain @Andrei @Kailas it will take me a little while to distinguish the Jeep Wrangler colours from each other (who drove which Wrangler), so my apologies. You guys managed very well, and also have seen the use of deflating further down to have better flotation. @Ajiesh George Kannankara that Patrol of yours was sliding through the dunes without much effort. Very well done !! @Jinesh Thomas your FJ cruiser has all the bells and whistles and looks great, you drove very well ! @Sajit Modiyil The Nissan Xterra is a fantastic offroad vehicle. Get yourself familiarized in switching off the traction aids and getting the right tyre pressure. Overall you drove very good ! @Erwin van Helden, what can i say about Erwin, except for the fact we could not miss to see that black H2 monster, that you drove great through the dunes by the way ! At the end of the drive, nearby the exit track, @Wrangeld had the honour of pulling the Hummer of the dune with the little TJ, and did this amazingly well. Unfortunately the Hummer was feeling a bit stubborn after the recovery and did not want to start anymore. Erwin noticed that the lever was in P, but the dashboard was showing R. A quick look on Youtube told us that in that case the transmission shifting lever underneath the vehicle has come off. And luckily we were able to clip it back in place and resume the drive towards the exit. I hope all you guys had a good drive and initiation to desert driving. There is lots more fun to follow on the next drives. My main recommendation to all you guys is to practice deflation, test the accuracy of your pressure gauges by comparing with the gas station pump, to make sure 15psi is really 15psi and not 19psi. (BIG difference). Unfortunately many gauges are not very accurate, and it does not hurt sometimes to bring a second (different brand, type) gauge to double check. IF you have offroad tyres, you can deflate further down to 10-12 psi and will feel the positive result of that immediately. The sand was quite soft and lots of the tracks were quite churned up today, looks like many other clubs or drivers had their fill on the long weekend. Quite a few had a flag and radio already, thanks for that. To the other drivers, please arrange these for your next drive. As you have seen the flag is very useful to spot the vehicle going over the dune. My apologies i was not able to do the debriefing after the drive, as i instructed Richard to take the convoy out to the Hamari well while dealing with the Hummer issue. I hope you guys enjoyed and please type your feedback on this topic ! Welcome to the club guys and i hope to see you all back soon !

Nice drive and well driven everyone. Few first tugs by me and shovelling ...I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks @Srikumar and @Vanessa8580. Some pictures uploaded in gallery. Drive stats below 45593752001_relive-tracker_1596259313087.mp4

Congratulations @Islam Soliman. Hope you enjoy learning the new tips and tricks that come as part of this level.

Congratulations @VipinShetty. Well done, prepare for your new rank and enjoy learning the fun things at this level.

congrats @Heisem

Congrats @Islam Soliman, Your confidence and control of the great black monster has grown tremendously since you first started driving. Well done.

Congrats Heisem !

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.