Ale Vallecchi

No worries @asifk. Enjoy your visitors. Will see you on the next drive.

Sorry for this @Onlyjunaid. Take good care and see you next time. Hi @Roopesh babu. Unfortunately, as @Frederic mentioned, it will not be possible to join this drive as an Absolute Newbie. Also, without a radio nobody is allowed to join any drive. Please sign up for next week's Absolute Newbie drive, then you will be able to drive in a Newbie convoy, but only with a radio. Thanks for your interest.

Bravo @sertac.

Thanks @Pancho. Well noted.

Thanks @Chaitanya D. See you on Saturday.

Dear Desertnauts. Time for sharing the convoy's order for this Saturday's PM drive. Considering the complexity of the terrain, you will notice the list below is made up in a way that, when and if necessary, the second half of the convoy, the one just behind the Center Forward position, may be redirected slightly, to make sure it can proceed on clearer ground. With this in mind, we will drive as follows: @Kalahari in Second Lead @Shiju Manuel in #3 place @asifk will be #4 @Desert Dweller at #5 @Chaitanya D as car #6 @Srikumar will be the Center Forward, and the first lead of the second half of the convoy (when it will be necessary to separate it) @Pancho will be in position #8 @Najeeb Mohammed will follow at #9 @Rinelle Sanaani will take position #10 @Febin Frederic is going to be #11 @Wrangeld will Sweep the convoy. Considering the vicinity of Barracuda Resort (and its Thunder Road Grill), the meeting can be either: at the Grill for lunch, at 1:30PM at the Emirates Motorplex for deflation. So far, for lunch I have confirmations from Kalahari, Wrangled with Jeepie, and Desert Dweller with Foxtrot Oscar (for those who only know members by their nicknames, this will be a good opportunity to unveil their true names 😉). Anyone who wishes to enjoy some good pub food (or pizza and pasta) please confirm by tomorrow. Those who will join at the deflation point, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARRIVE BY 3:00 PM (30 minutes earlier than indicated): given the tricky nature of the drive, it will be better, and safer, to start a little earlier, to make sure we can exit before it gets dark (sunset will be at 6:26PM, and darkness is supposes to fall at 7:16PM). Please make sure that all drivers have a compressor, as we will be exiting quite far from an inflation station. I am not going to mention all the others tools that all of you should be carrying in your cars, by now. With all this in mind, I wish you have a good end of the week, a nice Friday drive (s), for those who cannot stay away from the desert even for 1 day, and will be seeing you on Saturday for this first exploration drive in RAK.

Dear Desertnauts, it's time for tomorrow afternoon's convoy order. We will proceed as follows: @Mahmoud Hamzawy in Second Lead @Hardik Mody will follow at #3 @Andrei at #4 @Anand Nataraj in #5 position @Hatim Patharia with the #6 spot @David Ortells will be our Center Forward @Onlyjunaid following at #8 @Vijaysekhar with jersey #9 @Shaaz Sha in #10 place @Arun Mathew with car #11 @Christian Andras in at #12 @Wrangeld will Sweep the convoy. Be advised that the meeting and deflation point is along a dirt track, turning right on the Road from Bab al Shams, approximately 1 Km in. You may refill at Al Qudra Parking lot ADNOC's station, then take the road toward Bab al Shams. We will meet a little earlier than previous afternoon drives, at 4:00 PM SHARP: the goal is to deflate quickly, have a briefing and depart as swiftly as possible. Once on site, please tune into Carnity Channel 2 (446.031) Make sure all of you have at least a good shovel (not a "spoon"), and possibly a compressor (as we plan to exit e few Km from the nearest station), and most of all front and back tow points in good conditions. As mentioned in an earlier post, there will be no need for special night lights, as we plan to exit before it gets too dark. We still hope to be enjoying a nice sunset !! See you all tomorrow. Have a nice Thursday evening.

@Frederic, @Chaitanya D - I have started using MyTrails following Sri's advice. I find it useful for my planning as you can choose from a huge variety of satellite maps. Some are much more accurate than Google Maps, even though the one I have chosen (an earlier version of Microsoft Maps) is a little old, and doesn't show the latest buildings or fences that have been put up recently (Ex. Solar Park is a fraction of it's current dimension). Nonetheless, it allows me to zoom in with great detail, and plan multiple exit points, fun areas, as well as places to avoid (if possible). Having said this, and having seen Fred's post, I will certainly look into Gaia as well 😁!!

@David Ortells and @Christian Andras Welcome to the drive. Please refer to the drive's info above. I will come back with the convoy order and last details later in the afternoon. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. @Anand Nataraj this is a reminder that all drivers should have read and acknowledged the Covid-19 rules (by clicking on the "Totally Agree" icon). According to a last count you still need to comply. Please do so before tomorrow evening. Thanks a lot for the cooperation. Hi @Christian Andras I have just added you.

Wonderful news @Tbone. Your dedication and passion are commendable. And you are a very good driver. Well done!!

@David Ortells I have already added you to the drive. If you change your mind please sign out. Thanks

Hi @Andrei. It will be nice to meet you. We plan to exit just before getting dark, so no special lights are needed. Look forward to seeing you on Friday. Hello @David Ortells. The drive is still open, so you are welcome to join. You can sign in. See you on Friday.

A @Anand Nataraj this is a reminder that all drivers should have read and acknowledged the Covid-19 rules (by clicking on the "Totally Agree" icon). According to a last count you still need to comply. Please do so before tomorrow evening. Thanks a lot for the cooperation.

Dear @Shiju Manuel, @asifk welcome to the drive. Please read (if you haven't done it already) the drive's presentation above. It will be useful in preparing for the trip. Also, let me know if you will be joining for lunch at Barracuda's grill. See you on Saturday.

Good job @asifk. Well earned!

Good job @Shiju Manuel. You showed steady progress, and deserve to have the opportunity to keep growing. See you soon.

@Desert Dweller will do!! Good to catch up with you.

Thanks Kalahari. Anybody else who wants to join we can make the booking until Thursday evening.

@Mahmoud Hamzawy, @Anand Nataraj welcome to the drive. You can find the trip presentation above. See you on Friday.

@Febin Frederic and @Najeeb Mohammed feel free to bring your kids, as long as you can safely strap them in during the drive 👍

Guys you already outguessed me!! I wanted to ask if someone wanted to meet at Barracuda's Thunder Road Grill for lunch before going to the deflation point. They accept max 4 people per table, so if you feel like and confirm who's coming for lunch, I can book the tables. We can meet there at 1:30 PM (service is a little slow but the food is good). Please confirm who feels like it. PS - In case you want to shop for booze, make sure you can secure it safely in the car during the drive. @Kalahari this time we're going the other way 🤓. But will keep it in mind.

Dear Desertnauts. Sorry for keeping you waiting a little longer for the drive's preview. This information will be very important for you to align yourselves with the spirit of this outing. Here are a few important facts to consider while preparing for the day. THIS IS AN EXPLORATION DRIVE - It means we will follow a track that is not well known (although we'll cross several tracks used by local farmers and herders), and will have to be patient with possible re-directions, or overcoming of unforeseen obstacles. The idea is to find a route from the sea to the mountains, even though we will not actually reach the latter with this first drive (that's good news as there should be a follow up to reach our goal). THE TERRAIN IS EXTREMELY DIFFERENT FROM OPEN SAND DUNES - We start the drive virtually on the sea (just off Barracuda Beach Resort in RAK), and will reach the interior, where E311 and E611 almost merge. At the beginning of the drive the vegetation will be extremely rich, thick and green. It will be mostly composed of low bushes and crawling plants, which will cover the sandy ground almost completely. We will be forced to find our way through this low "jungle". These bushes, feeding off the salty water seeping from the shore and rising up close to the ground, will start to recede as we'll proceed inland, to leave room to more sporadic low vegetation, and groups of thorny trees forming small forests. This is when we'll start encountering some sand dunes, getting progressively wider and taller, but always requiring a very technical approach (not the usual "bowls" we are used to finding in Badayer, Pink Rock or Qudra areas). THE SKILLS REQUIRED WILL BE QUITE TECHNICAL - As mentioned above, the uncertainty of the track ahead, and the presence of vegetation for most of the drive, will require that we mentally switch from a higher speed, sharp hedged, smooth sailing Intermediate drive to a slower pace, finesse oriented, controlled mode. We will have to change approach based on each obstacle (or lack of), and will need to use the cars' power for short bursts, when needed, rather than for prolonged climbs or rides. THE AVERAGE SPEED OF THE DRIVE WILL BE SLOW - We expect to cover approximately 40 Km, and should take around 3:30 hours, for an average speed of 10Km/h. The normal speed of an Intermediate drive on open sand is closer to 30 Km/h. So be prepared to proceed at a crawling pace: put on some relaxing music and enjoy ! The idea of this drive, besides looking for new areas to visit, is also to provide a glimpse into, and an opportunity to train, the full set of skills that are required from a complete, all-around, off-roader. This will certainly be a "premiere" drive which will require spirit of adventure and patience at the same time. Something different on the Carnity buffet. @Desert Dweller, @Najeeb Mohammed, @Kalahari, @Chaitanya D, @Rinelle Sanaani, @Pancho, @Febin Frederic welcome to this new menu. @Srikumar and @Wrangeld thank you for bringing your experience to the table. More final information to follow soon. Enjoy your week.

Dear Carnity Desertnauts. As is my habit, before each drive I'd like to outline the nature of the area that we'll be visiting, and to provide some info about what to expect from the outing. This time we'll be driving through the so called Bab al Shams quadrant of the Qudra basin: this is the south-western part of the Qudra sand dunes, closest to the famous resort. The terrain here should be ideal for a Newbie drive, through gentle white sand dunes, occasionally rising to a low altitude (this is one of the lowest points of Dubai's emirate), coming in long waves, separated from each other by short stretches of open sabkhas. We will be able to practice side sloping, safely crossing the long range dunes, and will slowly increase the pace and challanges (in a safe manner), depending on the convoy's response. From the nature's point of view, we will be passing by several feeding stations for gazelles and oryxes, and should be able to catch glimpses of some of these animals. Along the route there may be occasional areas with some low bushy vegetation, and certainly some low thorny trees. We will pass by a few basins with low formations of dry clay mud. @Andrei, @Hardik Mody, @Hatim Patharia, @Vijaysekhar, @Arun Mathew, @Onlyjunaid and @Shaaz Sha welcome to the drive. More news and isntructions will follow closer to the drive's date. Enjoy your week.

Hurrah @Kalahari !! Well done. Your great curiosity, humble approach, and constant desire to spend as much time on the sand, make you very deserving to advance to...Advanced. See you soon in the desert.

Congrats @Vanessa8580. Girls Power rising to the top, and deservedly so, for your strong motivation, fearless will to improve yourself, and love for the desert!! I am looking forward to more drives with you.