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It has been a pleasure to have @Athula Dharmadada and @Yasas Dharmadasa on our drives along with their families and enthusiasm. I'm glad as brothers you learned and grew in ranks together side by side. We will all be anxiously waiting to have you back with your choice of a newer, more reliable vehicle which compliments your skill sets.

I have a hat, i just need to find a bunny that can jump out of it 😅

@Ashok chaturvedi rest assured we are working hard behind the screens to make things happen where we can, I do not appreciate the tone in which this comes and kindly request you to hold your horses till further news comes.

It was an amazing drive, the best I had! Thanks @Emmanuel Abu Dhabi takes off road and dunes to the next level and it was empty and very smooth @Kalahari and @Christian Andras thanks for the great company and support How about doing a weekend or weekday trip to Liwa?

Humble relive hope you enjoy it ☺️

Hey @Frederic, it looks like you have 11 wait listers so far. Is it possible to have 2 intermediate drives if another marshal volunteers to lead a second procession? @Ale Vallecchi and @Gaurav did that on the RAK scenic drive.

Hi @Ashok chaturvedi, thanks for your meaningful comment about the intensity of the drive. As you will appreciate, Intermediate Drives have a faster pace and a higher level of technical complexity, which - no doubt - require a much higher degree of concentration. These are also the drives where one can refine and polish his driving skills and slots in such drives are coveted by those who are focused mostly on improving their off-roading technique. Obviously one doesn't always have to focus only on the drive and from time to time it is also nice to have a more enojoyable ride in a Fewbie or Fewbie+ convoy. This also applies to Leaders: for example, I had loads of fun yesterday leading this action-packed drive, but I like the idea to settle down at a Fewbie level for a more relaxed weekend entertainment. This is the beauty of Carnity, you can chose from Newbie to Extreme drives, depending on your appetite, provided you qualify for the intended level.

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!!

It looks like Umm al-Oush. Or is it Al-Wagan or Al-Qoaa? Regarding the “level” that you’re asking about, it depends on what you consider: if it’s convoy discipline and basic safety rules, then I would say pre-absolute newbie. I wouldn’t advise anyone to drive in a convoy like this one, unless he wants to make body parts sellers rich. Technical skills? The crisscrossing is something we all learn at fewbie+/IM level - but definitely in a safer manner. At one point you can see the LC doing a pretty messy one and dangerously fighting gravity. Now, considering the pace, it’s always difficult to say based on a video but it doesn’t seem very fast. The height of these star dunes always make it more impressive than what it is in reality. I don’t know what other marshals and crews think?

Dear @Antony Calvin, @Pacific, @khurram.k, @prajupramod, @pramod, @Yahya Munir, @Sara EL FANIDI, @Abilash Madhavan, @William Fernandes Happy to see you on Friday morning. I just wanted to inform you to make sure you have all items onboard: 1) Offroad flag 2) Shovel 3) Pressure gauge / deflator 4) Compressor (gas station nearby has no compressor) 5) Radio with the Carnity frequencies programmed. Please make sure you are equipped with above items, otherwise we won't be able to allow you on the drive. If you have any questions in particular about where to buy, which model, please have a look at below advice: Also, if you haven’t done it yet, please open the Covid19 precautions 2.0 link (above, in the drive post), go through it and at the end click on the “totally agree” icon (in that same link, not here). See you in the sands!

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

@Yasas Dharmadasa and @Athula Dharmadada a mixture of emotions, Happy that you were able to recover the cars and sad that you have decided to take a break. But I believe you have made the right decision at the moment, and we look forward to seeing you and your family in the near future with a new ride. Take care.

@Ashok chaturvedi i do believe in miracles. 🙃

Sorry to hear about duo tragedy with @Yasas Dharmadasa and @Athula Dharmadada, hope they get their cars back soon. Such repetitive incidents really emphasize on changing the mechanic or the cars or testing the cars limit at IM level. Leaving the cars behind inside the desert is a big inconvenience and expensive plus tedious affair to arrange a mechanic with parts to do on-site repairing. Or hire an expensive desert recoveries to retrieve the dead vehicle from the dunes. 20 Feb - Srikumar - Intermediate 13 Feb - Angela - Fewbie Plus 06 Feb - Lorenzo - Fewbie 15 Jan - Ale - Fewbie 25 Dec - Sertac - Fewbie Plus While off-road drives any smallest imperfection, negligence or flaw in the timely maintenance really multiple the damages, and not worth taking any chances with such unforgiving terrain. Wishing both the brothers real good luck in finding a decent mechanic or replacement desert-worthy ride soon.

@Thomas Varghese fully agree, something more i can add to this is low sugar or lack of energy, its important to keep yourself hydrated and sufficiently fed with temperatures rising dehydration and lack of energy would be a common occurrence. Last drive i heard someone say they were dizzy after being out in the sun recovering their car from a stuck situation and it could be purely due to lack of energy or low sugar (suggested eating a candy or chocolate to bring sugar levels up). @Lorenzo CandelpergherJust a suggestion, may already be part of Marshals to do list. It would be nice for Marshals to have a drive list of participants that suffer from any chronic conditions (diabetes, blood pressure, blood group etc), incase of any situations this may be handy. I know we are required to fill in the details on the profile but there could be places where internet is not accessible and may need such information which is available offline to the Marshals.

There is lots of shops like Divya, Al Amani, etc.. that sells original spare parts and is slightly cheaper than Habtoor...

Hi @Emmanuel and team, just want to post this video here (subscribed to this guy on Instagram) - how would you rate the difficulty of this dunes and drive? Also - can you recognize the place where it was taken in Abu Dabi? (could be a destination for one of the future extreme drives)

@Lorenzo Candelpergher I surely would love to nick name you the flying lorenzo..it was a wonderful pace and I enjoyed being on this drive. Amazing is the part that you drive a Nissan Petrol long wheel which is a super heavy luxury SUV but your talent is such that you make it look so easy to drive. Among the drive objectives as you mentioned one was to enjoy the desert view but the only view I had is my bonnet and the tracks of the car in front me such was the pace. IM is an experience I feel a bit challenging with 100% concentration... .

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

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)

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.

As part of continuous improvement and focus on safety, we have added an Emergency details for each and every offroader who drives with Carnity Off-road Club. All the data will be 100% private and only accessible to Trip leads, Marshals and Crew in case of any emergencies. Alternate Contact - Name, Relation, Contact Number Emirates ID Date of Birth Blood Group Medical Info - Condition, Prescribed Medicine, Known Allergies Car insurance details: Type, Company Name and Policy Number Road Side Assistance Contact number NOTE TO ALL OFF-ROADERS: Please fill up all the Alternate Contact and Emergency Details in your profile. HOW TO ACCESS IT From Desktop: Click on your name on top right - Profile - Click Edit Profile/Pencil icon From Mobile: Click on 3 line on top right - Account - Profile - Click on Pencil icon next to DP Fill up attach word document and keep a print out in your glove box all the time. Carnity Off-Road Emergency Details.docx Carnity Profile View Word File View Carnity Off-Road Emergency Details.docx

Congratulations @Hossam Anwar for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Ha ha.. Fred,, Bring that magician who can pop bunnies out of majic hat. 🤣

Congratulations @stavros papachristos for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Ashy for reaching the Intermediate Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. INTERMEDIATE Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 drives are required after fewbie promotion and within last 6 months. (Drives can be a mix of Newbie, Fewbie (50%) and 2 Fewbie plus, depending on your adaptability, learning progress and Marshal’s feedback) What you'll learn Basic GPS and navigational skills Basic tow rope and winch recoveries Extreme side sloping and long hill climb Tall dunes ridge riding and criss crossing Precise control over technical dunes Fast pace desert driving Clear radio communication skills Advance recovery skills Self recover from dune crest Soft sand recovery Pop-out fixing Skills required Adventurous and thrill seeker but in a safe manner Level headed under stressful situations Responsible, dependable and accountable Car Worthiness Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS. Drive teamwork Manage center forward position with Trip Lead’s permission Learn/assist recoveries under Trip Lead’s supervision Re-route convoy and coordination, when needed Learn to lead small portion of Intermediate drive under Marshal supervision Drive Joining Join Newbie, Fewbie, Intermediate and Exploration drives only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congratulations @Dodi Syahdar for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Short memories from the drive

This interesting....since TJ's make 70% of their power below the 3k rpm mark, I think the Turbo might bridge the gap to 5.4k rpm....and you'd be saving money on the part of the torque curve where the extra power isnt really needed (since super chargers are more expensive). Pretty sure the love one has for turbo hot hatches is a universal feeling. it might even be illegal to dislike a hot hatch.

Commander..! We need another Marshal to accommodate 😁

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..

I borrowed this one for a weekend only. Mine will come by next weekends only 😬

Dear @Rahimdad bhai driving with you in any drive level is definitely an honor and for me a great added value to my learning the offroad world which never ends. Thank you for the trust and for giving me the chance to excel what I have learned so far and to my best being in the sweep position. I hope I did the job the way it should be. thank you also for the above superb report which I enjoyed reading it not less than the ride it self 😄 also I would like to thank @marks whom I had the chance to handle some situations together ( with keeping the Covid precautions on off course ) especially the last technical part ( the one I most love 😉 ) With your invaluable guidance. I would like to thank all the drivers for being adherent to the precaution rules and their strict abidance which was evident from start to end . And their positive active participation in a very pleasant driving style on the Carnity’s way despite the few refusals and one stuck . However it’s the game flavor and it’s spice I would say so we can learn better and refine our skills. from my sweep position it was a treat to the eyes to see how the whole convoy moving in rhythmic tune so elegant in a back ground of pinky dunes as if I was looking to an alive paint masterpiece 😎 painted by a true Legend @Rahimdad Special mention to @Serafino who was driving directly in-front of me and honestly I was impressed of his drive style, approach and handling the terrain effortlessly ... but later I came to know about his previous experience in desert driving. I hope too he gets promoted soon to next level. all and all every one did amazing , how can ‘t they with carrying along with them all this trust respect enthusiasm and on top the safety aspect and etiquettes of convoy and desert drive. wish all of you best time ! cheers 🙏🏻👍🌷

VID-20210221-WA0000.mp4

I do not like turbo lag. I prefer linear power delivery, hence voted for NA