Ale Vallecchi

Dear @Kalahari, @J J and @Rinelle Sanaani. Thanks for joining the drive. For you and those undecided Intermediates out there, a few words about the drive. We have visited this previously neglected area a few times lately, with other Carnity convoys, plus 2 of my leads. Now that we have become more familiar with the does and donts of this terrain, the goal of this trip is to bump it up a notch, and execute a more speedy drive, navigating Lisaili's long range dunes all the way to Solar Park, then beyond it, through a small technical area, back on more long range dunes, through the Qudra basin, toward the Bab al Shams road. The drive would stretch through most of the north-western Dubai desert region: a longer trip, which becomes possible only at higher off-roading levels, requiring less "acrobatics" then a bowls' tour in Badayer or Big Red, but more speed and endurance skills. Looking forward to seeing you (registered and yet unregistered drivers) on Friday morning.

Hi @Chaitanya D. Thanks for advising. Hope to see you next time.

Hi @Chaitanya D. Thanks for advising. Hope to see you next time.

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. Drive Details Level: Intermediate and above When: 28 Aug 2020, Friday Meeting time: 5:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Action Plan: Long range dunes and some technical areas, side cresting, ridge riding and crossing, faster pace. Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gWpiP3f7oRxKpotd9 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), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 09:00 AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL STARTING AND ENDING THE DRIVE AT THE SAME POINT, WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 Intermediate and above drivers. 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. 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 BELOW CALENDAR

NIGHT AND DAY - PINK ROCK EXTENDED This time every driver's maniacal punctuality allowed us to start the day....with a night drive. With the cover of the dark we snuck into the dunes leading to Pink Rock's nothern base, and easily climbed its saddle, just in time to enjoy the first hints of dawn. From there we proceeded, skirting Fennec Cave, all around the rock, in a south-westerly direction, toward the beautiful range of sand bowls and low ridges that makes up the plateau betweem our starting point and Big Red. The terrain, and the quality of the drivers, allowed us to practice all off-roading skills: streight crossing, side sloping, and the rudiment of criss-crossing. Eventually, as everybody got more comfortable, we pushed the level up, and by the time we exited, the convoy had managed to ride in and out of the lower Big Red's bowls in good form, driving smoothly , crossing over the last 3 bowls without stucks. Great job by @Chaitanya D, executing flawlessly his first Second Lead. Very good contribution by @Rinelle Sanaani in his first Center Forward position (good recovery of Islam's GMC). Also perfect job by @Febin Frederic, also in his first Sweep, keeping the convoy together, and managing its flow when some refusals demanded directing the traffic. Special mention to @Islam Soliman for the impressive handling of his "beast": after the first challanging ridge, you never looked back, and managed a perfect ride. Very good drive, cool and collected, by the "younger" off-roaders (@Tero Vallas, @muzamil hussain, @Biju Abdul and @Gregory Perkin) as well as the more experienced ones (@Anish S and @Shiju Manuel) one could see all of you gaining in self-confidence, improving at each crossing, managing the last, more fast paced ones at Big Red, with good precision and control. Well done. By 9AM we had managed to drive for 3:35 hours and 38.4Km, at an average speed of 11Km/h (20 Km/h while moving), with a maximum speed of 58Km/h, and a total of 608 meters climbed. Thank you all very much for joining, and see you next time on the hot sand. Have a great week!!

In case there was any doubt about the meeting point, 2 December Cafeteria in Sharjah, this is the Google Maps link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Z7wYX4mBs9nCNno77 See you to...Night 🌙

Dear Desernauts. In preparation of Saturday's AM drive, this will be the convoy order: @Chaitanya D will be my Second Lead @Islam Soliman will follow in third @muzamil hussain will take place #4 @Anish S will drive his Pajero in spot #5 @Rinelle Sanaani will take on duties of Center Forward @Biju Abdul will follow at #7 @Shiju Manuel will drive in place #8 @Tero Vallas will wear jersey #9 @Gregory Perkin will be #10 @Febin Frederic will sweep the convoy. Just a reminder about the necessary ingredients to participate in the drive. Must haves: a good shovel, a tow rope, preferably with soft shackles, a compressor, and most of all, always, well maintained and functional tow points, front and back. Lacking any of the above will force me to remove any driver from the trip. Please double check all is in order. The terrain will be very diverse, and while we'll never encounter long cordons of open dunes, we will have a lot of opportunities to climb, side slope, and enter different "bowls", as safely as possible. Some dune crossing may be necessary, so please check the post regarding this dune-crossing skill in the site's archives. I will also give a technical briefing about this skill. We will meet at 5:00 am at 2 December Cafeteria (which of course will be closed), with radios tuned in to Carnity channel 2 (446.031). See you all on Saturday.

Thanks @Tero Vallas. You are confirmed. See you Saturday.

Hello @Christian Andras. Sorry to hear that. Thanks a lot for advising. See you next time. @Tero Vallas we have had a drop-out. You would be next in the waiting list: will you please confirm you can join the drive? Thanks a lot.

Thanks for the confirmation. See you on Saturday.

See you on Saturday.

Hello @David Ortells. As the spots clear up I am bumping up the drivers in the WL, according to their order. You are currently n.2 in the waiting list (2 spots up from before). Let's see if there are any changes today (or tomorrow). Thanks for your patience. Hello @Islam Soliman. Just checking how it is going with your car's repairs. Will you be able to have it back in time for the drive? Thanks a lot for advising. Have a good end of the week.

Dear @Mehmet Volga. Thanks for advising. I will amend the convoy list now. Hope to see you soon. Hello @muzamil hussain. You are now in the drive. Please confirm it's OK for you. Thanks a lot.

You are welcome @Chaitanya D. See you on Saturday.

Hello @Tbone. Thanks for the advanced notice. Hope to see you next week. Have a good weekend. Hello @Mukundan Nair. i will add you to the WL. Thanks for asking. Dear @Chaitanya D happy to inform you that you are IN. Can you kindly confirm? Thanks a lot.

BUON COMPLEANNO Vanessa !!!

Thank you @Islam Soliman. Hope all gets fixed on time (just keep me informed of the progress). See you Saturday.

Dear @Islam Soliman, thanks again for joining the drive. I just would like to ask you a question: have you been able to fix your front bumper from the last drive? I was informed that during last Friday's drive a few clips came off it, and some plastic parts broke, so the bumper may be slipping back off, if not properly fixed. I prefer to ask this now, while you may have enough time to sort out the problem, and come with the car in 100% working shape. Thanks a lot for understanding my preoccupation, and look forward to seeing you on Saturday. Have a great week.

Dear Carnity desert wanderers. @Rinelle Sanaani, @Gregory Perkin, @Febin Frederic, @Tbone, @Shiju Manuel, @Anish S, @Islam Soliman, @Biju Abdul, @Mehmet Volga and @Christian Andras Welcome to next Saturday's drive. As usual, just a few words about the possible itinerary. We'll move from 2 December Cafeteria to reach Pink Rock and climb on the cool morning sand to the other side of it, where a solitary oil rig stands guard to a lower outcrop of Pink Rock, called Fennec Cave. After that we should circle back on the other side of the Rock, and direct ourselves toward Big Red's direction, driving on a low plateau, which extends in the direction of both Nazwa to the west, and Badayer to the South. The skills required to handle the drive include mostly side-sloping, managing the ins and outs of small bowls, while keeping the convoy's relatively calm pace. Considering the quality of the drivers who have signed up (there are no new Fewbies in the list) we will brief the younger members about the execution of crossing ridges, and we'll try to practice this skill, where it will be safely possible to do so. Make sure, especially the younger members, to have all the necessary tools for this level of drive (a good shovel, tow rope possibly with soft shackles, functional and rated tow points, both front and back). Please be aware that lacking this minimal equipment (especially the tow points) will constitute a reason for disqualification from the drive (even at 5:00 AM). More info about the itinerary will be provided closer to the day of the drive. In the meantime, enjoy your week.

Dear @Chaitanya D, @muzamil hussain, @Tero Vallas and @David Ortells sorry you could not made the list, but you will be respectively from #1 to #4 in the waiting list. I will update you if something opens up. Thanks a lot for your patience.

Faqa Arboretum - Part Two Driving back to back in the same area, with two different levels of drivers (Fewbie and Intermediate) provides the very interesting opportunity to look at a place with completely different eyes, and allows one to come away with two very different sensations. The more sedated pace of the Fewbie drive sometimes allows for the possibility of "enjoying the view", but at the same time requires more attention to details (as far as the routing is concerned), and therefore less space for improvisation. The fast paced Intermediate drive leaves more liberty in terms of itinerary, relying on the drivers' ability to face obstacles, and calls even for some experimenting, while requiring more concentration in making the right "spur of the moment" decisions. Of course drivers taking both drives would certainly notice the difference. For example, yesterday we took 30 minutes to reach the same spot that it had taken us a bit more than 1 hour to reach at the Fewbie level. So, yes, one of the biggest differences in climbing the rank's ladder is the speed of the drive (security notwithstanding). The drive, as scheduled, took us from the low level flats of Faqa's north-eastern entry point to the "Arboretum" parts of the area (the numerous trees that thrive between the cordons of dunes), then into the higher dunes, with some interesting pyramids that call for some fast criss-crossing or side sloping, and eventually, through the sabkha, in a westerly direction, to Little Sweihan. Here, after a nice driving among a couple of canyons, the drive ended in a tight, technical area, due to an unfortunate pop-out, that called for the whole group to come together and devise the most creative solutions to fix it. And fix it we did, in the light of the high-beams, before exiting toward the Soler Park track (with a short but pleasant night drive through the last cordon of dunes). Congrats to the whole convoy, where @Febin Frederic managed a very good second lead (perhaps it was your first?), followed by @Najeeb Mohammed, @Rinelle Sanaani and @Chaitanya D, getting more and more comfortable in their Intermediate level, and @Wrangeld at the sweep, guaranteeing the usual control and competence in matters of assistance. Thank you all for joining, and for the great group effort in ensuring we did not leave any car behind (as at one point, it was ominously looking likely). Have a great week.

THE DAY OF THE LONGEST DRIVE (so far) The day started while it was still night, with 22 beams from 11 cars pointed at the flat vast plain of Northern Faqa. It ended almost at noon, 2 cars shy of the initial convoy, near the tarmac just before Bab al Shams. During the almost 6 hours of the drive we rode the long range dunes of the north-west part of Faqa, got deeper into this area navigating a few small bowls, stretched our cars' legs onto the sabkhas on the way to Solar Park, exited 2 cars on the tarmac, and continued through the western Qudra area, before a couple of stucks in soft sand convinced us it was time to call it in. In the end, we drove 94.5Km, in 5:51 hours (4 hrs of which moving), at 16Km/h average speed (24Km/h while moving), starting from 3 meters of altitude to climb as high as 142 meters in the middle of Faqa. The highlights of the day: the convoy snaking its way among northern Faqa's many lonely trees (hence the drive's nickname The Arboretum) navigating Faqa's deeper bowls on the way out to the sabkha, with no other choice but going forward and not getting stuck, due to a base plate almost coming off one of the cars, and just skirting the ground by a mere few inches the bonus drive through the long range dunes, and clay mud flats, of Western Qudra a mixed convoy, ranging between brand new Fewbies and more seasoned Intermediates, moving in good synchronicity, without major delays, other than for the couple of mechanical issues we encountered along the way (the afore mentioned base plate coming apart, and a gear box not engaging in 4-Low when needed). Great thanks go to @Tbone, @Kalahari and @Najeeb Mohammed, the more senior members of the group, for their support and efforts during the drive. Congratulations to @Jeandre Bezuidenhout, @Taha Elghuel and @Biju Abdul for showing great control of their cars (hoping that Biju's plate gets sorted out without any issues). Very well done @Mehmet Volga, @Rajeevan Vickneswaran, @Shiju Manuel and @Janarthan: you are very solid and reliable Fewbie drivers, who should only look forward to more fun and success on the hot UAE sand. Thank you all for the drive, and hope to see you soon out there. Have a great week.

Thank you for coming and enjoying @Najeeb Mohammed. You did very well, with constant improvements. That's the way to go: getting more comfortable with the challanges by facing them, with the support of the convoy (watching others overcome them makes one feel more sure of oneself). There is nothing like practice. See you soon out there.

Thanks @Chaitanya D. You did very well, managing the faster pace, the ridge crossing, and the more technical area. You are progressing nicely and quickly. And you have become the official Carnity cartographer 😄. Really, thanks for the nice clips.