Rahimdad

Indeed very sad incident Dr @Mohamed Seidam. This is laziness or lack of knowledge which created such incident. The stuck vehicle did not budge an inch. The way the Patrol was stuck it would have been better to recover it from the other side. As we are unable to see the other side for any dangers, securing the rope with a heavy bag or a bungee cord could have saved the Hummer driver. Diging behind the wheels to create an easy path could have also saved the hard tugs. Such a hard tug is never recommended. Much better to have a few tugs of much lower intensity.

Trip Report @Ranjan Pattanaik really sorry to learn about your emergency, that left us with lucky 13 on a Friday morning. Woke up to a very pleasant morning as I drove to the deflation point to find everybody maintaining Social Distancing. As we deflated and got our flags up high it was time for a briefing. With a quick briefing and getting everyone in their convoy position we were off. As promised we started easy and kept leveling up as we drove through. I must say that the support and the convoy on the day allowed me to drive at the highest at the Newbie level. As we made our way through some nice smooth untouched dunes, we were also faced with some bushy nasty ones. We did get some play time and everybody impressed me with how well they understand their vehicles. I must thank the Marshals they have been with to handle their vehicles so well. We even managed to have some play time in our favourite area and left it in time for those behind us to enjoy. As we crossed over to the other side we gave it our all to climb the Fossil Rock. To my surprise finally after 4 months we found a path covered with sand going straight down. Being a Newbie drive it was a new experience for most convoy members. They all managed it well with a little help from @Shamil guiding everyone from above. If the convoy felt this was exciting they had no idea what was in store for them. We kept marching on towards Faya with just 1 stuck and very few refusals. Before we knew it we had all 13 cars on top of Faya. What an amazing sight it was. At this point we headed down to try and reach up from the front face. Although it was fun learning exercise, but with heat increasing and Friday prayer time close we decided to head out, inflate and head home. @Serafino was an excellent second lead and I was just so relaxed having him right behind me. Ready to take a diversion or stop as required. @Jasim Khumi back after some time has not lost the touch. His Pajero almost as small as his own frame seems like they're made for each other.@soumyasaklani is not one to give up. Just loved to see him take some caution and in the process getting some refusals. But taking it in his stride as lessons and kept on moving. @prajupramod seemed to be one with his Land Cruiser, although big and heavy but always on the move. Always looking to conquer one dune after the next and marching on without any major issues. @Osama Al Hamwi was a pleasure to have once again. His smile was so bright his Land Cruiser seemed to not disappoint him so he would not loose his amazing smile. Me teasing him being Humvee driving an LC200 was a bit late to realise, but nevertheless hilarious once understood. @Shamil was my Centre Forwardfor the day, which gave me lot of confidence. In turn I ended up taking advantage of him and he obliged helping endlessly to keep the convoy moving. @Lawrence_Chehimi was in his Y62, I now declare him to be the Lawrence of Arabia. He was impressive handling his Y62, if after @Lorenzo Candelpergher I would say Lawrence was amazing. @Nafiz with his LX470 was another survivor as he never gave up. Faced with refusals but never saw hi. Give up. After watching him the saying comes to mind "Try and try until you succeed". @Daniel Rodas was the bad boy. He and his Rebel did not have the word impossible in their dictionary. He kept rebelling dune after dune to see him Rock the amazing machine everywhere.@Ben84 quietly but surely kept rolling with the convoy in his Wrangler limousine. He was a treat to watch whenever I had the opportunity. Rubicon was his second name for the day and he really used it as well as I've ever seen anyone do it. @Pacific aka Falcon was a high flyer and boy did he clock on some miles on our journey today. He was full of enthusiasm which was contagious enough to keep the convoy wagging. @Abu Muhammad was my eyes and ears at the back end. His sweep duties have once again saved the day. It is such a pleasure to see someone from a higher level come and support a Newbie drive. Hope you all have the best of what is left of your weekend and a promise to see you all again soon.

Time to close up the drive and share the convoy numbering and the radio channel we will be using tomorrow. DRIVE RSVP IS NOW CLOSED Convoy numbering: Rahimdad - Pathfinder (Lead) Serafino - Wrangler JLU (SL) Jasim Khumi - Pajero SWB Soumyasaklani - Prado Ranjan Pattanaik - Ford Explorer Prajupramod - LC200 Osama Al Hamwi (Humvee) - LC200 Shamil - Xterra (CF) Lawrence_Chehimi - Patrol Y62 Nafiz - Lexus LX470 Daniel Rodas - Ram Rebel Ben84 - Wrangler JLU Pacific - Wrangler JK Abu Muhammad - Sequndra (Sweep) @Serafino @Jasim Khumi @soumyasaklani @Ranjan Pattanaik @prajupramod @Osama Al Hamwi @Shamil @Lawrence_Chehimi @Nafiz @Daniel Rodas @Ben84 @Pacific @Abu Muhammad Please find your names and convoy numbering above. When you arrive tomorrow morning, you can start deflating your tires to 15psi if you have normal/highway tires, and 12psi in case you have off-road tires. Please arrive on time 6:30 AM, earlier is even better so we can help you out with deflation if needed. We will be using Carnity Channel 1: 446.00625 Mhz. Seniors on the drive are myself, @Serafino in second lead, @Shamil as center forward and @Abu Muhammad who will be sweeping the convoy and we will all help you out in case of refusals, stucks, which is all part of the game (and fun) After deflating we will do a briefing to emphasize on the aspects of off-roading and the teamwork involved when becoming part of our off-road community. Since the number of cases has gone alarmingly high and as per the new restrictions we will revert back to briefing from our vehicles over the radio.. In case of emergencies, you can contact me on 050 674 9099 See you tomorrow !

@Frederic is awesome when it comes to audio systems and @Gaurav bhai has an awesome setup too. But when it comes to Android Car or Apple Carplay better to stick to known brands. I was once tempted by the Chinese head unit due to the low cost and inclusions, but its just not worth it. Agree with @Niki Patel here.

Congratulations @Serafino. Hope you continue to enjoy learning and polishing your off-road skills at this new level.

Congratulations @Abilash Madhavan. Hope you continue to enjoy learning and polishing your off-road skills at this new level.

Congratulations @Chris Meir. Hope to continue to enjoy learning and polishing your off-road skills at this new level.

Darn @Frederic, before you came along with you 3.0 litre engine that used to be my line.