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DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, Al Qudra is the off-roading backyard for most of us: a well known territory, usually associated with the idea of fairly easy drives. Today's drive was specifically meant to get past this stereotyped image and prove that even Al Qudra can be a very challenging place for off-roading, even at Intermediate level. The whole convoy (at the end we were 12 cars, which for a Monday afternoon Intermediate is probably unprecedented in Carnity), was diligently ready by 3.30pm sharp, and 10 mins later we closed our briefing and hit the sand. During the previous couple of days more than one participant had made it clear that the expectation for a real Intermediate level was high, and my drive brief had certainly contributed to such expectations. Well, I think the convoy got a good taste of an Intermediate Drive today. After a couple of minutes of warm up, we started a very fast paced stint along a nice group of mid-sized long dunes. It was a shot of adrenaline that woke up the whole convoy: anyone who had plans for a relaxed drive doing some photos here and there immediately came to realize that this wasn't such drive, and that - as promised in drive post and radio brief - this was, on the contrary, a drive requiring the full, undivided attention of every driver. As Carnity Advisors say, a Leader in an Intermediate drive doesn't use the rearview mirror that much, and I must say I didn't. Today's convoy was bombastic, really fantastic. Whatever I threw at them they chewed it without hesitations. From what I could see, @Ahab Shamaa, who had made the impossible to be able to join the drive, chased my tail very closely, making an amazing 2nd lead in all situations, while @Jon M, who was in his 1st Intermediate drive, was definitely faced with a whole new game, but stood to the challenge magnificently. @Ashok chaturvedi's yellow FJ Cruiser did wonders today as we didn't spare any possibility for breaking crests and doing high speed criss-crossings both from windward side to slipside and from slipside to windward side. After approx 40 mins we completed our first stint and entered an area of smaller and more technical dunes, which I tried to spice up with some very quick and tight turns and tons of sharp criss-crossings. It was here were we had the first serious stuck, with @Islam Soliman's GMC Yukon digging down in a small bowl of soft sand, which gave me the chance to inaugurate my brand new winch. A few mins after I got crested in a moment of hesitation. Being an afternoon short drive, we should have opted for a quick tug (which eventually turned out to be the solution, with @Anish S, performing an exemplary recovery), but we instead indulged shoveling, as @Mohamed Seidam's contagious enthusiasm couldn't be contained in those moments. After crossing a sabkha, we then started the 3rd stint of our drive, this time on the longest, tallest, and most complex dunes of the day. The drive had been named "The Slip Side of Al Qudra" and I think that if anyone had not yet understood why I had chosen such title, he/she had pretty much a clear idea at this point, as we probably dived down on slip faces at least 100 times during this section of the drive. We had a couple of crested cars, brilliantly and quickly recovered, and in general the convoy did incredibly well along these high and complex dunes. @Tariq Carrimjee, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe and @Ilya Golubinsky found finally adequate challenges for their capable Wranglers. Certainly today wasn't the ideal occasion for an open top drive, as @Tariq Carrimjee realized.. 😂😂 I was honestly amazed by @Gaurav Soni, who pushed is Pajero to an outstanding performance. Equally astonishing was @Jack Thomas, who had the hardest job of all today with his intercontinentally long F150. By 6.10pm I was planning our way out across the last few dunes to get out on the sabkha and eventually to Bab Al Shams. It was probably because we all felt a bit exhausted and started relaxing in the anticipation of the imminent exit, that the classic last minute disaster happened: literally not more than 50m away from the safe flat sabkha, we suddenly found ourselves in a couple of difficult bowls, where we had 3 pop-out and two stucks, one to be winched out. @Jack Thomas's two pop-outs in 15 mins were part of the game, but they should be considered a badge of honor in today's drive, as they both happened in the most difficult terrain of the day, which costed me a pop-out as well. He's still light-years away from the all-times record of pop-outs that I still hold, so he shouldn't get too excited about today's double..😂😂 The last minute disaster costed us a bit more than a full hour, so we finally made it to the tarmac by 7.30pm. All tired but, behind our masks, certainly smiling. Congratulations to everyone for a majestic performance today. I hope you all had fun as much as I did. Also, many thanks to @Islam Solimanand @Anish S for the great help in the final messy 45 mins. Your help was key to sort out the pop-outs, especially the last one, fixed in a deep bowl and in the dark. Equally my gratitude goes to all the others, who patiently waited on the sabkha: this solidarity and team spirit is one of the reasons I love driving with Carnity. See you soon at the next mid-week drive, Desert Wanderers!!

12 waitlisted. Better start charging for your drive @Frederic bhai.🤣

@Lorenzo Candelpergher, I'm literally in an Uber going to the SZR Toyota to pick up my FJ. I’m still hopeful I can join 😂 I hope to see you guys 😀

There is something very important I have to communicate to fellow desert wanderers. In the drive announcement the Marshal's encourage us to bring loads of water for each drive. I also used to bring loads of water but have never used much as frequency for bio breaks increases proportionately. My fellow wanderers please don't feel shy to take bio breaks in between. Drink lots of water. I don't want to elaborate what happened to me but whatever happened was not pleasant. The suffering I had for almost 3 days is beyond description. Couldn't sleep for all this time as my stomach was feeling like a football inside. Its important to take care of us during the drive as we take care of the machines. The effects of dehydration is not at all pleasant.

same here @Junaid120120. The family thinks I have gone mad.

cant wait for my first fewbie plus drive all excited. and yeah. thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher for taking me in the drive and yes ur drive was full within a minute. I was out with my family and had to stop my car and apply for the drives lol. my family was unable to understand my madness hahahahaha..

thanks Frederic, very interesting topic, appreciate the time you spent to put all this valuable tips/info together

Dear @Lorenzo Candelpergher Good morning Your reply has been noted and will try to apply after 5th FB drive. Regards....

@Ashy congratulations and well done . We have another JGC climbing up to the challenges ... well done

Which you @Lorenzo Candelpergher and all a safe and enjoyable drive

Short memories from the drive

Slip face drive in Qudra indeed it was a drive I needed to do in Qudra and my wish came true. Fast paced doing almost all maneuvers we needed to do and the some refusals , stucks and pop outs we encountered were a bonus . Hat off really for the lead today @Lorenzo Candelpergher for this amazing challenging afternoon as well as for all the other drivers who kept the adrenaline pumping. Well I couldn’t keep my friend and companion in the car locked for many hours 🤣 ( the shovel ) , but yes agree that short afternoon day drive makes it faster with the rope 👍😄 thank you @Anish S for joining us today and being our sweep and @Ahab Shamaa our fantastic second lead and every one being centrally forwarding when needed. happy to see all of you today and enjoyed the drive more then ever @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Ahab Shamaa @Islam Soliman @Ilya Golubinsky @Tariq Carrimjee @Jon M @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Jack Thomas @Gaurav Soni @Ashok chaturvedi @Anish S

Bravo @David Ortells.

Congrats @David Ortells. Well done!!

Congrats @stavros papachristos!!

Waitlist 1) Islam Soliman (1) 2) Nizam Deen (1) 3) Muhammad Kashif Razzaq (1) 4) Rizwan Waheed (1) 5) Craig Finlayson (1) 6) Christian Andras (1 ) 7) Mohammed Seidam (1) 8- Jorge Stepniak Felipe (1) 9) Rizwanm2 (1) 10) Ashok Chaturvedi (1) 11) Francois Germishuys (1) 12) David Ortells (2)

@Vanessa8580 You are 100 % correct I pulled out my name from driving list as my car F150 having some steering issues on low RPM ,Iam sending it to service center ,not sure it will come back in time thats the reason I request for wait list

Hi @Junaid120120, As far as I can see, your rank is still Fewbie, so you don't qualify yet for an Intermediate Drive. I am sure you will soon have your chance. Good point, I will do that. Thanks

On these things i would take zero risk. After all you don’t want to end up with steering issues on the road which could potentially lead to serious incidents. I would bite the bullet and get it fixed properly, and not by a backyard mechanic who will make you lots of promises but you might end up having the same problem again and again.

Congratulations @Ashy

@Bhaskar congratulations well done

@Dodi Syahdar congratulations and well done

@stavros papachristos congratulations

@Hossam Anwar congratulations

Congratulations @David Ortells. Well done

Very well deserved. Many congratulations @David Ortells

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: Fewbie and above (All Level) Meeting time: 2:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/octtUF6vPJikh6reA 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: 6:00 PM P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 cars maximum. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. 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. Members that do not confirm the terms of the COVID requirements will be removed from the RSVP list. 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

@Ashy Congrats and well deserved. Really happy to see you grow and get more involved in the drives.

I actually like the shape of the FJC despite its lack of visibility. It will be perfect if they drop in a bigger engine just to give consumers the options /choice.

Hope you managed to catch the drive @Ahab Shamaa enjoy

@Shynil Hashim, you have responded to the RSVP of this drive but you are a Newbie and do not qualify for an Intermediate Drive. I have therefore removed you from the RSVP. I hope you read this before you leave home!

ok thanks!

Fingers crossed @Ahab Shamaa

Congratulations @Dodi Syahdar

Congratulations @Bhaskar

Congratulations @David Ortells 👍

@Hossam Anwar Congrats dear.

Congratulations David ... Bet you did not realise all those technical dunes were a special test for you 🤣🤣

Congratulations @Hossam Anwar. Hope you continue to enjoy learning and polishing your skill at this new level.

Congratulations @David Ortells on a well deserved promotion. Looking forward to some drives with you soon.

Dear Desert Wanderers, the RSVP for this drive was full within the first 60 seconds, I am flattered... 😂😂 @varunmehndiratta, @N@ved, @Ali Abas, @Arman, @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader, @AlexPol, @Sinol, @Arda Yagcioglu, @Thomas Varghese, @Junaid120120, you are confirmed for this drive. @Danish Mohammad, so far you have attended only 4 FB drives, therefore you do not qualify (yet) for this drive, as a minimum of 5 drives are required to be eligible for Fewbie Plus drives. I hope you will find a spot in another Fewbie drive, after which you will be eventually able to join any Fewbie Plus drive. For the time being, unfortunately, I had to remove you from the RSVP, which means @Junaid120120, being the 1st waitlisted, made it to the confirmed current list of participants. Added to waitlist for their 1st drive are @Aus Alzubaidi and @Islam Soliman, in this same order. @Islam Soliman, as you correctly said the slots for this drive are only 10, so - even if you were able to add yourself as a participant, you have been removed from the RSVP and waitlisted in 2nd position Have a nice week!

Hello @Gaurav, I have been trying to PM one of the marshals but it keeps telling me I don’t have access to the content for some reason, but I was hoping to apply to be promoted to fiewbie if that was possible please. Also congrats @stavros papachristos!

Congratulations @Hossam Anwar!

Congratulations @stavros papachristos!

Congratulations @Dodi Syahdar!

Congrats @Dodi Syahdar !!

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.

Very well documented @Frederic. Very descriptive but for some it takes time to perfect the technique, take your time and remember safety is paramount.

Well done @Frederic for taking so much time to share this great off-road knowledge. Very well explained and documented with perfect diagrams and videos. Only thing I like to add for all new offroaders, learn and follow above instructions to the max but never fight the gravity. If you had a bad feeling for any side sloping, criss crossing attempt, exit safely and make another attempt rather than fighting the gravity. Small deviation of track can also cause lot of difficulty and push the car to the soft patch, in that case simply accept the defeat and exit down without fighting with mother nature. Even experienced offroader do have refusal and repeat without any hesitation, that's the real fun and challenge of offroading.