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DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, I had set the expectations quite high for this drive with my introductory post.. Luckily the magic of Mahafiz, Fossil Rock and Faya didn't let me down today. @Yusuf Esaf, upon arrival at Mahafiz meeting point, said it felt like he had just entered the gates of Heaven as we were literally surrounded by a thick, almost solid, white fog. Not sure @bassel el rafei felt the same way, though, when at 7am he suddenly realized the meeting time had been postponed by one hour due to fog 😂😂. After the briefing it was decided that I would do a quick recce to check the visibility and by 8:45am we started our adventure, with everyone agreeing that 30m visibility was enough to give it a try. For almost an hour we drove in a surreal Mahafiz desert, transfigured by the fog: it was the first time for me and even more so as a new leader. The exact opposite of the drive start I had pictured in my mind, riding east towards the sunrise, but still quite an experience worth making.. The convoy did pretty well in such foggy conditions. A couple of refusals and a short break to deflate a bit more @bassel el rafei's tires didn't stop us from wandering around until the sun eventually made the fog fade away. Just before the fog thinned out, a tricky sharp dune got @varunmehndiratta crested, but @Ashy tugged him out in no time, as a perfect Center Forward. With a clear visual, the fun started as we reached the play areas around the Long Dune, where we enjoyed the long and wide ridges and the the extensive side sloping passages we were all waiting for. Shortly after, @bassel el rafei's Pajero started showing transmission oil overheating issues, so we stopped to cool it down. Apparently the problem was under control, so we decided to continue and headed straight to the mighty Fossil Rock, which we reached in a triumphant parade. The descent on the steep east side was not advisable as there was no sand cover on the initial rocky part, so we decided to start our move toward Faya from the south-west side. As we proceeded in our zig-zag from one side to the other of the rocky crest that links Fossil Rock to Camel Rock, we enjoyed a fantastic set of dunes in a spectacular scenery, in a mix of red sand and white rocks. Unfortunately @bassel el rafei's transmission was still having issues, so @Rahimdad and myself had to halt the convoy and lead him out on the nearby pylon track, from where he made it safely out on E106. The convoy was so good and with so little troubles (except for @varunmehndiratta's constantly falling flag 😂😂) that we even took the time to watch @Rahimdad giving a free recovery masterclass to an unlucky lot who had gotten badly stuck with their Nissan Patrol Safari near Camel Rock. I was amazed by the great performance of @Paul Zeitoun with is long wheel base RAM1500: he handled the beast as if it were 2m shorter. Equally great was @Mikhail Lukichev, who quietly but steadily got his Prado wherever he wanted it to go. Kudos also to @bassel el rafei, @N@ved, @varunmehndiratta and @Ashy for a very smooth ride. All of this was happening under the 360 degrees fisheye of @imranaasghar81's camera, installed on the most ambitious cantilevered mount I had ever seen. I am very curious to watch his video of this drive, especially for the final bit at Faya. It was indeed at Faya that the drive transcended from a great one to a memorable one.. After exiting almost half of the cars, a handful of brave Fewbies asked to go back to taste a bit more of the big Faya dunes. I must confess my son Miki was very wisely advising against going in again, but his was the voice of a 7 years old wise man talking to his 46 years old childish father who could only feel the hitching to go back in and wouldn't listen to reason.. 😂😂 So myself, @Matt.T, @Yusuf Esaf, @imranaasghar81 and @Ashy, at 12.30pm, decided to go back "for not more than 25 minutes". We played around, attempted a few straight ascents at Faya play area, then made it to the top with an exciting and fast paced climb from the South-West Side. All the magic we could desire was there, we just missed a bit of drama to spice up this last stint and @Matt.T, after a majestic performance during the whole drive today, delivered it by stopping at one of the highest points in Faya with a totally incapacitated car, most likely with a non recoverable clutch failure. After waiting for 45 mins to see if the clutch would cool down and resume some functionality, we resolved to tow the car all the way from the top of one of Faya's highest points to the west side flat track and eventually on the tarmac. With power steering and braking systems still running but with zero traction, the challenge was to find a route that could lead us down without ever having to climb up anywhere, which is far easier said than done. After a quick recce, the exit plan was hatched and executed in perfect coordination with @Matt.T and, hopefully captured on camera by @imranaasghar81, as this one was definitely a keeper. With the whole convoy back on the tarmac, we could eventually have our adrenaline levels normalize and let this amazing day sink among our best memories. Thank you all for this fantastic day and special thanks to @Rahimdad for granting his Marshal supervision on my 1st totally independent lead and for the support as today's flying sweep.

Thanks all for a wonderful drive... Fog did change @Lorenzo Candelpergher's song Ride of Valkyries to Highway to the Danger zone....in any case both are awesome and so was the drive with it's super cool soft sand, crazy fog and beautiful slide slopes. It was my first drive around Faya area and I truly enjoyed the bowls it offers. Surely not as huge as Sweihan but than that's what made it more fun and less intimidating .(the sheer size at Sweihan was a bit intimidating for me last week). Wish I could continue further but for this stupid flag - wasted a lot of drive.time for all (Sorry for that, especially to @N@ved and @Rahimdad who had to track it), distracted me to be crested on that basics of dune (my first crest with Carnity) and worst it made it not so safe to continue without it for extended drive. Must have been an experience towing down a wrangler from top of Faya.. @Matt.T hope just a small glitch, keep us posted. Thanks to @Ashy for the tuck and regularly highlighting the challenges ahead... Imran - looking forward to the video of the drive. Thanks all for the overall wonderful experience.

Foggity Drive Report Well that was an altogether different type of challenge. I asked the convoy if they would rather wait or meander through the fog. The response was a resounding yes. Visibility was around 100m and we could all safely see the car in front. We set out at around 8:30 as the sun tried its best to burn the blanket of fog that enshrouded us. Tentatively we headed out, fog lights on! We followed the track for a little while and then broke into the gentle dunes. As we pottered around cautiously allowing our eyes to adjust @rajeshkumar rathod found his tyre had deflated. A quick stop to inflate and we were back to meandering through small dunes. This was exhalating enough for me, with no lights to follow and the fog playing tricks with the dunes, the number 1 priority was to safely have fun. As the sun began to win the battle with the fog, so too did the challenge level, we entered an area where we could do some side sloping, everyone handled this challenge well and all followed the protocol of steering down when the car and sand told them to do so. At this point @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader 's Pajero decided to have a pop out. We spent some time fixing that, and by the time we were done the sun claimed victory and we were free to explore uninhibited by poor visibility. We climbed some great dunes, with @Nathan Evans ' Jimmy showing us all that power to weight ratio really does matter. @Baskaran P.R and @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader squeezed the power out of their LWB Pajeros too and @Melenany was not to be outdone and showed what his F150 could do. As we passed into Solar Park we managed to get on top of some ridges, I have to say I was surprised by how well you all coped, Kudos to @Michael Glavanis on his first Fewbie drive and handled everything. Well done also to @rajeshkumar rathod who had a fine drive and also found himself stuck mid crest. You did great to follow instructions and self recover from that position. @Junaid120120 and @Thomas Varghese both had another excellent drive and continue to hone their off-road skills. Many thanks to @Archibald Jurdi for being my second lead and rerouting when necessary, it was great to have you behind me. Also thanks to @Melenany who did a fantastic job as sweep, keeping me up to date with all that was going on and also helping with refusals when needed. Here’s hoping the sun remains the victor for our next adventure, 😊

Oh, @Lorenzo Candelpergher, since you are fixing reports, can you please correct my F1500 to RAM 1500. Just for accuracy 😂😂 @N@ved, couch it is, and no cake, no brownies for a while 😂😂

Thank you @Foxtrot Oscarand @Melenany for giving a wonderful drive experience and support.

Guys just arrived home and have to say masterful driving today from all. Matt really enjoyed driving behind you mate and amazing at the back rahimdad honestly just want to say I love being part of carnity it god damn rocks!

@Emmanuel sorry for the delay,, i will be on time for the next drive👍🏽

Please note that radio channel has changed for today’s drive: we will use Carnity Channel 1 (446.006.25).

Hi, and thank you everyone for the drive today. Thank you @Chaitanya Dfor the challenging drive. It was a good one , even though the climate was not in favour of us. It's a fact that we had several refusals and stucks, but all together a different experience for me with my "X". I had I few issues with my tires today and I was expecting a pop out in each serious slides and turns. Thanking all of you for the help and support ( @Anand Nataraj , @Chaitanya D and @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for the help and support in managing the semi pop outs and for the tugs) Thank you @Chaitanya Dfor the advices on improving the driving skills off road and will always be mindful during my upcoming drives. Thank you all and see you soon in the sand. Keep cool 👍

@varunmehndiratta I also had a long lasting fight with my flag suction cup mount, which was constantly detaching and distracting me.. Then I finally resolved to get myself a proper mount, fixed on the roof bar, where my flag could be tightened and untightened with a spanner at every drive. Since then, my flag problems disappeared. The only issue, now, is that from time to time I forget the spanner on the roof 😂😂, typically at the end of the drive..

Unfortunately not my friend, I have 5 on the waitlist already and the drive is at capacity. You also need a couple of more fewbie drives under your belt before you can join a Fewbie plus drive. I'm sure I will see you on a Saturday afternoon soon enough

Done

You are right, @N@ved, it wasn't you crested, I indeed wasn't sure who it was. Fixed the report 😉, thanks.

@Lorenzo Candelpergher it wasn’t me who got crested 😭😭😭, it was Varun.....Let’s blame it on fog 😂😂 you could not hear me clearly due to dense fog 😉..... I did have a refusal never the less close to fossil rock ☹️.. an awesome day Lorenzo, thanks a lot for keeping us on the toes. Driving in fog and partially wet sand is a new challenge and something new learnt, nevertheless a fantastic day out. As usual the Superman @Rahimdad Bhai to the rescue and guidance every time... thanks again to everyone on the drive for some light hearted banter @Paul Zeitoun (did you sleep on the couch or the car 😜).... true spirit of Carnity touched once again, fun filled day with loads of learning and sharing all done safely... @varunmehndiratta As promised I did watch out for your flag was worried if I was going to be named the flag man of the day... hahahah🤣🤣 thank you everyone for a lovely day out

What a day, what a great drive, it had everything, fog, sun, refusals, etc......then ended with me having no clutch. Thanks to @Lorenzo Candelpergher and his 400hp right foot and great skill we got it to where a recovery truck could pick me up. So new clutch for next week!!!

Seems I won't be able.to make it on time. Post morning drive got stuck with some unexpected office things. Sorry for late change in plans, hope to catch up with you all next time

Take care @sertac ! See you soon !

@Mohamed Abo ElKomsan are you ready to take a spot on tomorrow’s drive?

Hello everyone, thanks again for the fun drive this morning! Massive thanks to Richard and Marc for guiding us in and out of the desert. So i managed to snap a few semi decent pictures. Unfortunately, i was mostly only able to take pictures of those closest to me. That would be Serafino and Salman. I do also have a couple of the rest of you though, so don’t despair! If anyone wants me to send them whatever pictures of them that i may have, please email me at: [email protected] and be sure to mention your car so i can easily scan through the pics and send them over to you. Hope to see you all out in the sands again!

Thank you for your understanding @Antony Calvin and @Salty3Arab

Guys what a phenomenal drive and huge props to Lorenzo and Matt for the amazing skill shown at the end I've never imagined anything like it ever!!!!!! For those curious about the contraption on the side of my car here's last week's drive - (I'll post today's drive ASAP!) I'll post today's drive Asap!!!

Hi, sorry about missing today. I will join next week - taking my car to get the tow hooks set up and will be ready for it!

Sorry @Antony Calvin it’s too much see you next time

Nice to meet everyone today, good ride!

I will be 15-20mins late ... i will reach by 2:20 ....

@Emmanuel, I'll not be able to join. Sorry for last minute back out. My car is giving some problem . Got it repaired two days back from Toyota Service Centre as there was some bend in brake plate ( Guess it happened during last week's drive ). Today again while on my way to the drive, it started making noise while taking full right turn. Really sorry for the inconvenience caused.

@Emmanuel hi i have to suddently drop todays drive. Sorry

Due to the intense fog, Angela (Trip lead) is running a bit late and is doing her best to make it to the meeting point on time while driving safely. In case of any emergency you can put a message on the drive topic. Drive safe.

Thanks clear 👍

see you at Murquab at 8 then.

Dear South Qudra Drivers, WE WILL START AT 8AM TOMORROW BECAUSE OF THE PREDICTED FOG. Here is the proposed convoy numbering for the drive. Morning Newbie South of Qudra 12 Feb 2021 Attendees Level Car Radio Pos # Wrangeld Marshal Mitsubishi Pajero SWB Y 1 Lead Tareq Ghosheh @Tareq Ghosheh Newbie Nissan Xterra Off Road Y 2 2nd lead Serafino @Serafino Newbie Jeep Wrangler LWB Y 3 Robert Nammour @Robert Nammour Newbie Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Y 4 Abilash Madhavan @Abilash Madhavan Newbie Mitsubishi Pajero LWB Y 5 Osama al Hamwi @Osama Al Hamwi Newbie Toyota Land Cruiser Y 6 GD27 @GD27 Newbie Nissan Patrol Y62 Y 7 Lee Wilson @Lee Wilson Newbie Ford F150 Y 8 Watteau @Watteau Newbie Ford Raptor F150 Y 9 syed salman raza @syed salman raza Newbie Ford Raptor F150 Y 10 Marks @marks Advance Toyota FJ Cruiser Y 11 If there is too much fog at 8am we will delay the start - but hopefully the visibility is enough by 8am to get going. Radio channel is not yet set, so watch out in the morning. We will be briefing outside anyhow so we can give the channel there. Looking forward to seeing everyone at 8am in the morning.

Hello everybody! Excited to see you all tomorrow evening! I would like to remind you to check if you have a red light head lamp. It is tiny but very important detail for the successful event. Besides of all your photo gear, feel free to bring your camping chairs to feel extra comfortable! Operating a camera on the tripod sitting in a chair is so easy Thanks!

Drive report As we gathered around the dirt track everyone deflated promptly and we headed out into the dunes following the little track for part of the way and finding our desert wheels. As we reached the dunes, we had an opportunity to do some gentle side sloping and we also had the chance to discuss the nuances of ridge riding and side sloping. With everyone coping well I decided to up the ante and we found some nice dunes that challenged everyone. We also had @Junaid120120 join us after arriving a little late he had the gumption to find his way to us.. The convoy was all coping well @Jack Thomas handled his F150 extremely well as did @Jon M in his Montero. @AlexPol powered his wrangler up everything with no issues and @Hisham Masaad and @Thomas Varghese were not to be outdone and followed suit. Well done all of you, some really nice driving on display. We had a couple of refusals during this part of the drive but nothing major. As we crossed the sabka to Solar Park we were treated to the sight of locals training their falcons. I’m always mesmerised by this no matter how often I see it. We took the track for a little while before heading into to the pristine sands of Solar Park. There were some lovely low and carved ridges which were the ideal training ground for ridge riding. One by one the convoy came across, two wheels at either side, controlling their momentum and steering. It was great to see. Well done guys. As the sun was setting the wide-open dunes of Solar Park called us on to them, and so we continued. @Ammar Naji had a couple of cracking crests which we managed to dig him out of and we got the rope out too. This was a great learning experience; the art of self-recovery is very very important when we drive in the desert. You took a little convincing Ammar but with a few helpers digging in the correct place we managed to get you down off that crest. The delays meant we lost the light and our convoy had the pleasure of a little night drive, we weren’t far from the sabka , but we still had some dunes to get through. When driving at night it is very important to stay close to the car in front so that you don’t lose the track. You’ll remember next time 😉 Thanks to @Tamas Hoffmann for the second lead. @Lucky sAm I’m glad your son got to experience an OR drive and of course to @Chaitanya D for his support. These evening drives are proving to be very popular. We must do it again 😉 Until our next adventure.