Wrangeld

Delighted that your well deserved elevation to marshal has been confirmed. You are an incredible asset in the club, the team and as a leader. @Foxtrot Oscar absolutely where you should be. Top of the dune!

noted. I shall, therefore, have even higher expectations.

Boy, we've been popular in recent hours. Here's our new convoy. This should be a fun drive, and with so much experience on show, I have high expectations.

Yes Gaurav, despite the late RSVP you are welcome to join.

Even better. Apologies for not seeing this. We do not work off a central database, so sometimes these errors slip in.

Desertnighters, It's tonight - wow, hasn't that caught up with us quickly? Below is the proposed convoy numbering (if everyone turns up). @bony raphi @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ @Fabiano Morais @M.Seidam @Ehab @Shaaz Sha @Nithin Vaidir @Thomas Varghese @Islam Soliman On arrival, please deflate, flag up and we will do our briefing in the vehicles so as not to disturb the residents too much or any prayers still going on at the mosque. As you see, we have the wonderful privilege of there being truly experienced drivers ahead of the less experienced. Tonight, Mohamed Seidam will officially be taking on Centre Forward responsibilities under supervision of myself and Islam. We will give everyone time to recover from refusals if their car stops moving where it should not, and guidance will be offered to help drivers to 'unstuck' their car themselves. If a driver is actually stuck - we will not have 8 captains on the drive. Please, it's over to Mohamed, Islam and myself to deal with the stucks. Night driving requires precision. It also requires the convoy to keep in close contact with each other so no-one gets lost, so the intermediates here, please treat the Newbies and Fewbies like your students. Help them by lighting the way, or showing them the route and supporting them through the night. COVID does not stop at night, so normal COVID rules will apply. Looking forward to seeing everyone later and a fun drive tonight. See you soon in the sand.

Desertnighters, @Nithin Vaidir @Ehab @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ @Thomas Varghese @Fabiano Morais @bony raphi[ @Shaaz Sha - late addition ] @Islam Soliman @M.Seidam As we are early off the block (Thursday night - not Friday) I am posting here to give a bit more idea of what to expect on Thursday night. Firstly, this is a newbie drive, and as such it's not going to be too fast paced or challenging but we will be able to have a fantastic convoy of inexperienced and experienced drivers. This is something I love, because it allows the newer drivers to be behind more experienced drivers, allowing them to follow very closely the tracks and hopefully give them the confidence to possibly take some challenges where they might be a bit more reluctant if they were following another less experienced driver. We have a lot more experienced drivers signed up than inexperienced, which is why I think this is exciting. It really means we can have a one on one session throughout the drive. As the more experienced may (and I repeat may, because this is not compulsory) have off road night lights it will mean that anyone worried about having only street lights can relax: For the record, I did almost all my night drives till now with street lights. Secondly, I think we can plan to have a long, but leisurely drive - by this I mean that even tough it will be late in the evening, if all goes well (and why should it not?) because we do not have to worry about it getting too hot, or have to worry about it getting dark we can take the time to follow the whole of the planned route to take us from Murqquab all the way into Last Exit. It's definitely possible if we keep things simple (which I intend to) and we all keep focused throughout the drive. Please bring coffee and snacks with you. Driving in the night is tiring and I don't want additional fatigue to impact on the drive. Post any questions you have here. See you soon in the sand.

This is the biggest risk we had in some time. I think we all miss a bit of rain - but I saw an updated forecast that made it look a lot less likely that it will rain. We will not drive if there is torrential rain, like last time. It's too dangerous, because the sand will soak up the water very quickly and become muddy. HT tires lose traction quickly in that situation. This will only be relevant when we have big heavy rain. A few days after rain is perfect, because the sand will be hard packed, but straight after the rain ...

You're in Thomas

Hi Ehab, If everyone is at Fewbie level it can be considered, however, I am rather disappointed that you do not believe that even at newbie level my leading would not make the trip the perfect start for the weekend. 😉

Nithin Vaidir @Nithin Vaidir Ehab @Ehab MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ Fabiano Morais @Fabiano Morais M.Seidam @M.Seidam Islam Soliman @Islam Soliman You are confirmed on the drive on Thursday night. The timing is intentional to allow the Iftar meal and prayers to be completed comfortably and so that you can get home and maybe even get in some sleep before Suhoor (although I guess most will be using Friday for rest anyhow). So far it's a small convoy, so the plan would be to investigate the longer range dunes around Murquab,maybe play in a few bowls, take the supersand highway and then make our way slowly but surely from the Qudra West dunes into Last Exit, going off road the whole way. Our only watch out is that rain (yes, you read that right rain) is forecast for Wed/Thursday. It's the only thing that will stop us going out because it's simply not safe to be night driving in the rain or on rain soaked dunes that will get muddy and bog down very quickly. Otherwise, I am looking forward to another night drive experience. See you soon in the sand.

Noted. Will let you know tomorrow

Congratulations @Darren Brooke looking forward to seeing you out there in Fewbie land some time soon.

Hi Lawrence, Here's one immediate difference - we side sloped here on the slip face, not the wind side of the dune. I would guess that all the side sloping you did to date was on the hard side of the dune. Other differences: Speed. IM you simply need to keep up. No one is waiting round to make sure you are keeping up. Warnings: The drive lead is not going to be telling you where every bump or sharp dune is on an IM drive. If you have any bumper angst at all, it's not a great place to be. Criss-crossing: You'll be expected to be able to do this from both sides of a dune Being hesitant to sign up for an IM - in my view that's a pretty smart tactic. Build up the skills by doing more and more FB+, where there will always be elements of IM. The best drivers around are those that patiently (and sometimes impatiently) waited to get their promotion. Thrown straight into an IM after the 'required' number of Fewbie drives means you can do the drive. There is a lot I can do, but not all of it is fun.

@Thomas Varghese I am sure Nissan will be very happy with a copy of your picture for their 'go anywhere' marketing campaign.

Drive Brief Murquab has a lot of wonderful dunes on which to play, high level, technical and long range, so we will start in Murquab and route ourselves into the Solar Park Complex. Depending on time we will try to get to Last Exit off road. If not, we will end our drive on the tarmac road that leads to Last Exit. General Info 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 2.0 MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: Ban Post TWO WAY RADIO GUIDELINES Every Off-roader 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. SUGGESTED READING: Carnity Two Way Radio Frequencies Drive Details Level: Newbie and Above (All Levels) When: 29 Apr 2021, Saturday. Meeting time: 9:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Murquab Mosque - https://goo.gl/maps/2Vb8f39YnbfuVPw48 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), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and your own compressor for tire inflation. Approximate finish time: 1:00 AM End Point: Last Exit Limited Spots Available: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Friday - 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 BELOW CALENDAR

Post Drive Report We had it all yesterday. A very short drive before the first (of many) pop outs, a sharp reminder that off road driving can be dangerous and a fun filled night drive all the way into Last Exit. While I cannot claim that the drive hit IM level the whole way through - for obvious reasons we needed to tone it down a bit - the varied challenges made for a fun afternoon. Had it not been for the pop outs and the almost roll-over ... well, that's another story. Our route took us from Lisali Fort, through some of the less challenging technical dunes in the Lisaili area [yes, sorry I navigated around the edges rather than going headlong into an advanced techincal challenge] and then some of the lovely long range dunes that the area has to offer leading all the way back to Solar Park/Qudra. We had an acceptable number of refusals leading through this area, nothing too serious, nothing too concerning - although the three pop outs early in the day was a bit of a surprise, including my own. And then, as we were side slipping our way through some lovely dunes, a very calm and collected @Watteau was heard saying 'don't move an inch Jodah. Richard can you come back immediately and help'. What followed was an exemplory lesson in extreme recoveries where within a few minutes, a sideways Y62 was back on all 4 wheels a little shaken, but not stirred! Credit to everyone involved in that recovery: @Watteau for using the winch with perfect prescision, @Tero Vallasrunning up immedaitely with the flat snatch rope we needed, @Francois Germishuys making sure that the offside of the car was totally under control, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Thomas Varghese @varunmehndiratta for digging on the side at the time and exactly where requested, @Islam Soliman for ably assisting in getting all the parts moving at the same time and most of all @jodha singh shekhawat for remaining calm and swallowing the fears he must have felt while sitting in the driving seat while all this happened around. After that, and a few moments to recover, all credit to @jodha singh shekhawat for getting back into the swing and driving with us all the way back into Qudra. It's always a risk adding time onto a drive. It's one of those things that as leads we do not normally offer, because it feels like you are tempting the off road gods by over staying your welcome - but I take full respmnsibility for offering to extend the drive and add a night driving experience for those that had not yet had it. I truly felt that the retribution I deserved for that 'temptation' had been delivered when, within 5 minutes of the start I came down off a slip face to find that the bottom of the dune was hard packed clay and with the speed we had on the dune to clear, the resulting impact left me with 2 pop outs and @Watteau who was following closely behind with one all of his own. The time taken in sorting out all three gave @Islam Soliman an opportunity to break his fast, have a snack and say his prayers (so perhaps there was actually some divine intervention involved) before we were on our way again, incident free all the way to Last Exit. As we approached the end of the drive, it was even possible to give the experience of off roading in other countries as we made our way through the trees and bushes. All in all, I enjoyed the varied terrain and challenges and the additional learning opportunities faced. It's not often we get the chance to have a really happy outcome from an extreme recovery. Bottom line, I am exceptionally grateful for all that I and others have learned in Carnity so that we could sort out the problems quickly, efficiently and without drama. This could have been much worsefor both the car and it's passengers, but the calm teamwork used to sort the problem was a testiment to everyone on the drive and the training we have been fortunate enough to receive. See you soon in the sand.

Hi Wade @Wadepat2, You asked how this happened. Albeit this situation was behind me, the most likely explanation was simply lack of momentum when crossing the slip face. No doubt the slip face was on a sharp angle, but having just made it through myself (and this car was in 2nd lead so it was not horribly churned) it was passable with the right amount of momentum and commitment. There may be other factors, but it did not look like the steering was wrong. A common explanation of vehicles tipping or getting close to tipping is a driver trying to fight gravity. I do not think that was the car here as the sand wall on the driver's side of the vehicle had a build up of sand that was consistent along the whole length.

Hi Guys, Final convoy (taking into account the no shows)

@Jack Thomas that's a shame. Reasons for not attending noted and I guess this qualifies as acceptable (!) ... although why a man of your means did not just charter a jet ...

Dear Thomas, IM equipment 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. Having more senior members on a drive who carry additional equipment or members that have already invested allows drivers not to invest themselves at this level.

Carnitians of the Saturday Afternoon IM drive, Here it is: Now you all know where you need to be. We will operate a buddy system in case someone needs assistance to recover. As everyone should have all the IM kit helping each other will be quicker. Radio Channel #2. Covid rules still apply so deflate, flag-up and wait for the go ahead to move - we should be able to have a rolling brief.

Thanks Francois - said it for me. The winch is a lovely tool, but it's not you, the driver getting yourself free when you are winched out ... and what are you going to do when your lovely friend with the winch happens not to be on the drive?

Actually, no I am not suggesting you are on your own, more that at IM you should have the skill set to get yourself out of trouble and not rely on the guy with the winch to pull you out. If there's no option, that's fine, but it cannot be the default position. Yes, IM should be fast paced - when moving. But if someone gets a refusal then take the time and work the problem. That's how we get to be better drivers.