Ale Vallecchi

NOT SO NEWBIES - Faqa Loop "Arboretum 101" Report As mentioned in the drive's preview, Faqa is not our first "go-to" location for a Newbie drive. Nonetheless, its northern part presents a very interesting terrain, with many copses of trees (hence the "arboretum", and long range, smooth dunes, very approachable by a Newbie convoy. Still, once the convoy gets into the heart of Faqa the dunes become taller and closer together, presenting also frequent technical areas, that may prove to be a challenge to unseasoned drivers. After a timely departure, between a moonset and a sunrise, we entered the long range dune from the backside of a large camel farm, warming up the convoy on a few side slopes, before directing ourselves toward the heart of Faqa. This is where the convoy proved to be not so Newbie, dealing extremely well with the technical dunes in between the tall cordons. All the few refusals and stucks were dealt with quite easily, so that we made very good time. Rather than driving all the way to Faqa town we chose to double back toward the low, open dunes, close to the northern sabkha, where the convoy, having gained confidence and coordination, managed to practice ridge riding and criss-crossing (in the safest possible way). The drive lasted 3:30 hours, and covered 48.1 Km, at the average speed of 14Km/h (21 Km/h while moving). Special thanks to @Ashy for a cleanly executed Second Lead, @Mikhail Lukichev for anchoring the convoy, and @Kailas for a smooth Sweep. Well done to @Athula Dharmadada, @Hardik Mody, @Baskaran P.R, @Rizwan Waheed, @Syed Raza Hussain, @Andrei, @Yasas Dharmadasa, @SureshVNair and @Gok Krish for managing with great control and skill the toughest, central, part of the drive, and for diving in with gusto into the last minute ridge riding and crossing. Have a great week, and see you soon out there. Special thanks to

Really sorry @Ashok chaturvedi. I saw your message when I was already on the way to the meeting point. Hope to see you another time. Enjoy India.

Hello @Rizwanm2. Sorry for my mistake (I hope it didn't upset you). I hope to see you soon for another drive.

@jodha singh shekhawat you will be driving at #7. Thanks

@Ilya Golubinsky you are IN. Sorry for Jodha, but I need to confirm the convoy order. Ilya you will drive at #12, in front of the Sweep. See you tomorrow.

Sure @Ilya Golubinsky. Will update you shortly. Thanks a lot.

Dear Desertnauts. I hope none of you is yet fed up with driving in the desert this weekend. One more drive awaits us, and it's an absolute novelty in the Carnity menu. We'll be visiting the area that surrounds one of the Royal villas, starting from Skydive Dubai's parking lot, directing ourselves north through a stretch of open dunes, toward a play area just next to the village of Margham, then we'll double back west toward the eventual exit point, just facing Lisaili (on the other side of the highway). All of the drive (except one play area) is barely charted (only driven once), so this will be essentially an exploration drive. The convoy order will be the following: @Chaitanya D as my Second Lead @Islam Soliman's Yukon at #3 @Hatim Patharia will take #4 @andy_macdxb at #5 @tcarrimjee will be #6 @Anish S will be Center Forward @Tero Vallas will follow at #8 @Kailas will cover the #9 spot @Jeandre Bezuidenhout will wear #10 @Biju Abdul will take position #11, and @Foxtrot Oscar will Sweep the group. Please be at the meeting and inflation point as punctual as possible (being early has become many drivers' good habit), at 6:00AM sharp, tuned into Carnity Channel 1 (446.006) Please be advised that to reach the meeting point you should follow the signs, through an underpass below the highway, and past a roundabout just beyond the tunnel's exit. Rest up this afternoon, and be ready to go tomorrow. See you at Skydive.

Hello @jodha singh shekhawat. Are you still interested in joining this drive? Please Let me know so I can either add you or the next person on the WL. Thanks a lot.

Dear @jodha singh shekhawat, if you feel like a spot has opened up for Saturday's AM drive. Would you like to confirm? Thanks a lot.

Hi @David Ortells. Just saw your message (sorry for my recall). Please resist!! 😅 Hope to see you next time. Thanks for responding.

Hi @Andrei. The plan is to finish around 10AM (Inshallah) 😅🍀

Hello @Rizwan Waheed. It will depend on your tires. If they are not low profile, and have a ratively high and robust wall I would go to 12 or 13. As the drive progresses they will also tend to re-inflate due to heat. Low profile (low wall) tires should go to around 15. Dear @Baskaran P.R, dear @Gok Krish, I still cannot verify that you have acknowledged the Covid rules from the website. Can you please re-confirm that you have read them and marked the post with "Totally Agree" before this evening? Members who have not complied will not be allowed to participate in the drive (or any drive). Thanks a lot for letting me know.

Dear Desertnauts, In preparation for tomorrow's drive, this is our convoy order: @Ashy will be my Second Lead @Athula Dharmadada will follow in position #3; you will have to follow as precisely as possible Ashy's tracks, as he'll have made the adjustments as indicated, when necessary @Hardik Mody will start at #4 @Baskaran P.R will be #5 @Rizwan Waheed will follow at #6 @Mikhail Lukichev will be the Center Forward (helping to take care of difficulties experienced by any car in the first half of the convoy) @Syed Raza Hussain will occupy position #8 @Andrei will come at #9 @Yasas Dharmadasa will be #10 @SureshVNair will be driver #11 @Gok Krish will follow at #12 just before @Kailas, who will be sweeping A few notes about the meeting time and place. Please remember that from tomorrow we'll start meeting at 6:00 AM. Nonetheless, please try to be punctual or even a little early, as we'd like to start the drive as soon as possible (it will start being light at 5:49, and the sun will rise at 6:11, so it would be great if we were able to move as the sun comes up, or even earlier). The meeting and deflation point will be just off the tarmac road. Please make sure NOT TO REACH FAQA TOWN, but to TAKE THE EXIT BEFORE FAQA: it's marked, on the map, and consists in a road veering to the right of the tarmac a few Km before Faqa town, going through a fenced gate, and continuing through some dunes first then a sabkha area. Once you reach the meeting point, please tune into Carnity Channel 1 (446.006). Tomorrow's drive will take place in a slightly less used area for Newbies. Nonetheless, we feel confident that it can be a nice and intriguing drive: follow instructions carefully and calmly, and stay concentrated, to find the perfect feeling between yourselves, your car and the terrain we'll drive in. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning for a leisurely and pleasant drive.

BTW @David Ortells and @andy_macdxb, if you confirm I will have to add you manually to the list, as the RSVP is closed. Thanks for letting me know (as we also have other members in the WL).

Hello @David Ortells. You are IN this Saturday AM drive. Please re-confirm, and see you at Skydive. Good morning @andy_macdxb. I am able to give you the last spot in the convoy. Please confirm you are able to join on Saturday at Skydive. Thanks a lot.

Hello @Tamas Hoffmann. Thanks for letting me know. Your sacrifice will be much appreciated 😅 Hi @Christian Andras. Sorry for tour withdrawal. We'll see you soon out there !

Hello @Senthil Kumar. I will add you to the WL. Thanks Hi @Kailas. No worries. Will do. Thanks.

Hello @Yasas Dharmadasa. You are welcome to join. Thanks Dear @Yasas Dharmadasa, @Gok Krish, @Baskaran P.R and @Athula Dharmadada, can you please confirm that you have aknowledged the Anti Covid-19 rules, as posted on the drive's announcement (by clicking on the "totally agree" icon)? Thanks a lot for confirming, and sorry for asking in case you had done it already.

Hello @Yasas Dharmadasa. You are welcome to join. Thanks

@Shyam Karat well noted. Thank you very much.

Hello @Ilya Golubinsky. You will be #4 on the WL. Thanks

Good morning Desertnauts. @Christian Andras, @Islam Soliman, @Kailas, @Biju Abdul, @Jeandre Bezuidenhout, @Anish S, @Tamas Hoffmann, @Tero Vallas, @Rizwanm2, @tcarrimjee, @Chaitanya D and @Foxtrot Oscar it's time to start savoring next Saturday's drive 🤤. Once again, as it's happened lately, Carnity has added a new dish on its menu. In fact, this drive will take us into yet another new area. Even better, considering that we only did a partial recce of this itinerary, approximately half of the drive will be an exploration, in search of enjoyable dunes. One of the reason why this part of Dubai is little explored by off-roading clubs is that this is where on of the Royal villas is located. The property is huge and well fenced, so that this drive will develop all around it, without infringing on any of its boundaries, while we'll be looking for clean playable dunes to ride. We may also encounter locals practicing the art of falconry, as well as camel farmers. The vegetation here is enough to sustain year-round grazing, even though it will not be as abundant as in other parts of Dubai. The terrain will vary from wider open yellow sand dunes (never quite high, nonetheless intriguing), to tighter technical areas (especially in the second part of the drive), which are however always surrounded by flat stretches, that allow relatively quick exits and re-directions. The skills we'll practice on this drive, besides adapting and reacting to a new terrain in the exploratory part of the itinerary, will be side sloping, ridge riding and crossing. While looking forward to seeing you on Saturday, please enjoy your week.

Hello @David Ortells. You are #1 on the WL. Thanks Hello @andy_macdxb. Yours is spot #2 on the WL. Thanks Hi @jodha singh shekhawat, you are #3 in the WL. Thanks.

@SureshVNair well noted. Sorry for the mix up 😊

Dear Desertnauts. @Rizwan Waheed, @Syed Raza Hussain, @Kailas, @Athula Dharmadada, @Andrei, @Gok Krish, @Ashy, @Hardik Mody, @Shyam Karat, @Mikhail Lukichev, @Baskaran P.R and @Suresh Nair, welcome to this drive. In anticipation of this Friday's drive, here are some information about what we are looking forward to. As we know, arboretum means "a botanical garden devoted to trees". While it's not likely that this area would qualify as a "garden" by any botanical standards, it is actually quite full of trees. The northern part of Faqa, in fact, benefits from a higher aquifer, which allows for a very abundant presence of trees, rarely alone, and more frequently gathered in sparse copses. We will enter the long range, white sand dunes, of this area through some of these groups of trees, and we'll continue in a southerly directions, toward the heart of the Faqa region. From here we will either double back toward the entry point, or continue eastward, looking to reach Faqa town, depending on the convoy's response to the more technical nature of the terrain which characterizes the second half of the drive. This is in fact an area that is usually visited by Fewbies and above convoys. Nonetheless, the nature of the northern sector of Faqa, with waves of long range, relatively open dunes, allows for safe travel also by Newbies in search for a bit of a challenge. Hence Arboretum 101 as the name of the drive, to suggest a Newbie level outing with the chance to taste, in a safe and controlled manner, some of the challenges to come once achieved a higher rank. It will provide the convoy with ample opportunities to practice low side slopes, riding on smooth, wide ridges, and straight crossing low dunes, honing one's off-roading skills, especially in the areas of finesse and control. More info to follow just before the drive. In the meantime, enjoy your week.