Lorenzo Candelpergher

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, The first drive of the season where my windows were down from start to end! What a beautiful feeling.. We started a bit later than planned at 6:22pm, because of the late arrivals of @Thomas Varghese and @MMansoor due to heavy traffic. To my surprise, my main off-roading headlights were not working properly (a loose contact somewhere), which casted some doubts on how relaxed the drive was going to be, as limited visibility implied more focus.. My doubts were wrong, as it all went smoothly and beautifully. We roamed around on the West side of Pink Rock for a little while to warm up the convoy and get everyone accustomed to the night driving experience, which always takes a bit of time and was, for some, really the 1st time. As usual the initial stint is also a test drive to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the convoy, so after the 1st quiet 20 mins I pushed a bit here and there to see who may get in trouble. We had a few refusals and reattempts, but nothing major, all nicely self-recovered with the occasional guidance of @Danish Mohammad. As we were approaching 7pm, we made our way back to Pink Rock, which we climbed to the top. The ascent to the pass is always an epic experience, no matter how often it is done. Yesterday, however, was definitely the most difficult night climb I happened to lead so far, as it was a pitch black evening with no moon light, so I had to climb relying entirely on my GPS track and then guide the convoy to the top by holding my torch light on so that drivers could have a target to aim at in the distance while climbing up in the dark. Quite an experience! As we were planning a proper stop pretty soon, we didn't indulge much at the top, so we made our way down on the east side of Pink Rock, and quickly climbed to its south edge, then stopped where the sharp rocky edge offers a 360° panoramic view of the surroundings. As planned, we reached our camping point approx 1h after our departure, and set up our bonfire. There was a nice breeze blowing, a beautiful view of the rock and of the surrounding landscape, with the horizon outlined by the lights of the roads outside the desert, a reminder of the civilized world far away, in stark contrast with the untamed nature of the place we stood at. Having a break around the bonfire, with some quiet music in the background (it was a piano concert by Ludovico Einaudi, for those who are curious), chatting about past off-roading adventures, was a really nice relaxing moment.. Exactly what I was hoping for the evening. After approx 1h, at 8:15pm, we put off the fire, wrapped up the remains, and made our move south, aiming at Big Red. What followed was a beautiful, uninterrupted, very fluid stint, during which we were blessed with a convoluted, but yet gentle ride, flowing around the fat ridges and the large bowls that the terrain south of Pink Rock offered. With minimal refusals and reattempts, we covered a significant distance and progressively approached our final destination. As we reached Big Red with a few minutes still left to spend, we tried an attempt to climb to the top: we didn't quite reach it, but didn't get far from it. On the way down, however, we had our only stuck of the day, with @MMansoor crested at a tricky criss-crossing: I had promised him, around the fire, that I'd get him stuck somewhere soon.. And I kept my word.. 😂😂 As I didn't want to delay our exit, the recovery was performed by winching the Y62 down from the crest, the fastest solution to the stuck. Five minutes later, by 9:58pm, we were out on the tarmac on E44 at Badayer. Everyone in the convoy did well yesterday night: @Thomas Varghese was a reliable 2nd lead, careful and responsive at all times, ready to reroute when required. A great entertainer as well around the fire! @Waqas Parvezat his 1st Fewbie drive with Carnity, followed without much hesitation. His past off-roading experience was very clearly visible. @Vaibhav handled is Jeep Wrangler very well, overcoming very quickly and very fast the initial hesitation in driving at night time at Fewbie level. His 2nd part of the drive, after being energized around the bonfire, was excellent. @MMansoor was roaring around with his beast very well. A couple of refusals that required a bit of help rerouting, especially in the beginning, otherwise a great drive! @Tareck at the back, with the 2nd Y62, did well everywhere. I couldn't see much, but I don't remember his name being mentioned on the radio for any problem. @Danish Mohammad had a lot to do last night, giving precious instructions to those who were having refusals and having some trouble himself from time to time (including a flat tire due to a probable minor pop-out, where the tyre went back in place after deflating): the sand was already churned up for me at the front, it must have been sand soup for him at the back. Well done! Overall we covered 38.7km in net 1h 55' moving time, which makes a brilliant 17.3km/h moving speed for a night drive. Except for our 1h bonfire break, we were on hold for only 19', which tells quite a good story about how the convoy performed last night. Congrats to all and thanks to @Thomas Varghese and @Danish Mohammad for their support. See.you soon again in the sand.

You are easy to shock @Thomas Varghese! Anyway, I fixed the post.

Dear Desert Wanderers, this RSVP is now closed. Please find below the convoy order for our drive: @Thomas Varghese, @Waqas Parvez, @Vaibhav, @MMansoor, @Tareck, this drive is meant to be an easy going, mid-week night diversion from our routine working days. We will take it easy and aim for a relaxing evening in good company. Nevertheless, driving at night comes with its own challenges, especially if this is one of your first times, therefore please prepare to devote your full and undivided concentration at every step and make sure you come well rested and hydrated and that and you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Passengers are welcome, however be mindful about their ability to sustain long off-roading sessions without developing motion sickness. Also, remember that desert at night is populated by many animal species that you would rarely see during daytime, especially scorpions and snakes. For this reasons, please wear closed shoes and long trousers. As we are going to take a break and relax around the pit fire at the top of Pink Rock, bring along with you a mat or a foldable chair. Be mindful about having your meal during our bonfire break: do so only if you are certain you won't get car-sick in the following 2h drive: this especially applies to your passengers, which should be discouraged from eating at all. There's no need for you to bring anything for the bonfire: I'll take care of the required stuff. We will be using Carnity Channel 4 (446.08125Mhz). Our meeting point is confirmed at 2nd December Cafeteria: https://goo.gl/maps/4MLgfqjsrbyt4XNA6 See you tonight, ready to go (i.e. already caffeinated, deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 6:00pm (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 5:45pm.

Drive Brief The only time when Pink Rock isn't pink at all is... at night, but that doesn't make it any less attractive for those off-roaders who are curious to see how the rock looks like under the feeble light of the waning crescent moon. We will enter the desert at 6:00pm sharp, i.e. at dusk, from 2nd December Cafeteria gently move south-west, getting progressively accustomed to driving in the dark along the nice, smooth and round ridges that make the west side of Pink Rock so fascinating. As soon as the convoy will be fully accustomed to driving in the dark, we will turn around and head east, to climb the rock itself and descend on its opposite side, a whole new experience when compared with the usual daytime approach. We will drive along the east hillside of the rocky complex to reach its southern extremity, where we will take a break around 7:00pm, setting up a camp fire and enjoying the magic mixture of flames, rock, sand, breeze, moon and landscape for approx. 1 hour, the time needed to burn a few logs and tell a few off-roading stories around the fire pit. From there, we will continue wandering south, riding one ridge after the other one along an exciting series of convoluted, diversified and fun dunes that will take us in the majestic area Al Badayer area and, should the time allow us, close enough to Big Red to be able to distinguish its silhouette when turning off our lights for a few seconds, after which we will make our exit on E44 Dubai - Hatta Road by around 10:00pm. Note: in compliance with Sharjah regulations and in a spirit of respect for the beautiful landscape that will host us, the bonfire will be arranged in a portable fire pit and all remains will be collected and disposed of outside the desert. General Infos 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 Mandatory Safety Requirements Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Fewbie and above (All Levels) When: 03 Nov 2021, Wednesday Meeting time: 6:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: 2nd December Cafeteria - https://goo.gl/maps/4MLgfqjsrbyt4XNA6 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, torch and your own compressor for tire inflation. Approximate finish time: 10:00 PM End Point: E44 Dubai - Hatta Road Limited Spots Available: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Wednesday - 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 EVENT

Hi @Ali Shah, yes this Newbie Drive will be open to Absolute Newbies. I'll be glad to see you in Al Fayah!

Drive Brief This drive will allow to discover a beautiful and largely untamed stretch of desert, i.e. the area of Al Fayah in Abu Dhabi, on the south east side of E75 Al Fayah road. This area is known for its bright sand, its big dunes with sharp crests and its large swooping bowls. In such an ideal territory for a Newbie Drive, we will enter at dawn from E75, heading east straight into the rising sun, enjoying the amazing landscape in the golden hours when lights and shadows, thanks to the morning light, enhance the fascinating shapes of the dunes. After reaching an area of stunning rock formations unexpectedly emerging out of the sand, we will loop back to our entry point, getting back on the tarmac of E75, hopefully carrying away a great deal of fun and memories from this inspiring discovery drive. General Infos 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 Mandatory Safety Requirements Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Newbie and above (All Levels) When: 05 Nov 2021, Friday Meeting time: 7:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: E75 Al Fayah Road - https://goo.gl/maps/pH1UmMLcUUawgqQAA 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: 11:00 AM End Point: E75 Al Fayah Road Limited Spots Available: Limited to 12 cars only. 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 EVENT

Dear @Larry Cadden, @Omar ElGamal, @Melenany, @Patrick van der Loo and @Looper, here's the drone shot of Moon Lake kindly taken by the newly made friend Lojain (met there on the spot) who might soon become a new @Carnity member: See you soon!

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, I was a bit skeptical this morning after so many dropouts from the RSVP.. It felt like this drive was not meant to happen, after all! I was so wrong!! In fact it was a beautiful drive, with a great convoy, across a wonderful landscape. After a quick briefing in the early afternoon warm sun, we started our drive by 2:35pm. The short convoy ultimately had only 6 cars, of which two Newbies, @Omar ElGamal and @Patrick van der Loo, driving their first Newbie Drive after an Absolute Newbie and a Masterclass drive respectively, one Fewbie, @Larry Cadden, and more senior members. A shorter and stronger convoy usually means less stucks and refusals, more fun, more distance, more driving time. We actually ticked all the boxes, as we had only one stuck with @Omar ElGamal at the very beginning and very few refusals later on again with Omar and with @Patrick van der Loo. @Melenany managed well the only recovery of the day, towing@Omar ElGamal out of a soft patch he had unfortunately ended in after correctly steering down on a slide slope where he had lost momentum. After this single episode our ropes (and shovels) never left our trunks until Moon Lake, when @Melenany lended his rope to help some sports car get unstuck nearby. As we headed west and then progressively south into the desert along a zig-zag route, we started practicing first some small slideslopes, then progressively bigger ones, alternated with smaller and bigger half circles, which allowed our Newbie friends to get the feeling of what it takes to climb up the windside of those long dunes and stay up there, sidelsloping for longer and longer distances, keeping the car afloat on the sand thanks to the right combination of speed (ie momentum), full or gentle throttle, and smooth and round steering up and down. Sidelsloping was indeed the leitmotiv of the day. What in the first 30 minutes seemed almost impossible to achieve, became progressively more doable as a result of extended practice: going just outside the comfort zone, in a safe and controlled way, eventually leads to realize how quickly the comfort zone gets bigger! It should be said that, while honing our driving skills we went through beautiful dunes and amazing views. We crossed multiple rocky formations which were so stunning to deserve a photo stop: We then made it to the famous Richie's bar, a must-photograph location in Al Qudra for any offroader.. .. especially @Melenany: We then continued across amazing long range dunes, where, besides sidelsloping, we could practice straight up - straight down dune crossing. We first started with some small ones .. .. but we quickly built up the confidence of our newbies to do way more challenging attempts: We got to see oryxes and gazelles, some running just a few meters away, too fast to be captured in a photograph, but we also got to see amazing views in the "golden hour" before the sunset, when the light of the sun becomes warmer and more inclined, painting the sand with amazing colors and shades: It was at this point that @Omar ElGamal's Pajero started having some apparent overheating problems. Weird case, though, as the temperature gauge showed normal values, the fluid in the tank was well within normal levels and the car was driving perfectly fine. Possibly an electronic malfunction, a faulty sensor or an issue on the radiator fan. As nothing indicated a real problem it was decided to allow Omar to complete the drive while keeping a close eye on the temperature gauge. As the sunset time was about to be reached, we made our move towards our last stop, Al Qudra's Moon Lake, where we enjoyed a well deserved, refreshing chill-out: In the twilight after the sunset, we quickly made our way out through the sabkha, reaching the dirt track to Bab Al Shams and eventually the tarmac by 5:50pm. Overall we drove the amazing distance of 55.2km over a total time of 3h 13' from start to end, of which 2h 29' spent in motion and 44' stopped, mostly for photos and a quick break as we certainly didn't lose much time on stucks and refusals. Great kudos to @Omar ElGamal (let us know how your cooling problems got sorted) and @Patrick van der Loo for an excellent performance today, especially considering that, in a couple of places we surely reached good technical levels for a Newbie drive. For both of you the key takeaway today is keep up the momentum and never fight gravity (I must have repeated it a hundred times!). Great thanks to @Larry Cadden, an impeccable 2nd lead today, to @Melenany for an excellent support during stucks and refusals and to @Looper for a quiet but yet reassuring sweeping at the back. It was a pleasure being with you all, thanks for your company and see you soon again on the sand!

Correct meeting point here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uSP6NNtqggKT4DgL7 Thanks for noticing. @Larry Cadden, @Omar ElGamal, @Patrick van der Loo, @Shyam Menon, @Melenany, @Shantanu Joshi, @Rouaj, @GratefulKRD, @Gerrit Bus, @hasan hamadeh, @Looper, pls notice the correct meeting point above. All references to the meeting point have been amended.

Dear @Shantanu Joshi, sorry to hear the news. I hope your son will be better. Take all the time you need to decide, family first of course. Just drop me a message when you decide. Dear @hasan hamadeh, sorry to hear you'll miss the drive and thanks you for letting me know.

Dear Desert Wanderers, this RSVP is now closed. Please find below the convoy order for our drive: @Larry Cadden, @Omar ElGamal, @Patrick van der Loo, @Shyam Menon, @Melenany, @Shantanu Joshi, @Rouaj, @GratefulKRD, @Gerrit Bus, @hasan hamadeh, @Looper, this drive is going to be thrilling and exciting, as we explore a variety of mid-sized and long range dunes around Al Qudra, with the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the landscape painted by the sunset light. On the other hand, as many of you are on your very first drive after the Absolute Newbie experience, this will also be a very demanding drive, requiring your full and undivided concentration at every step, so make sure you come well rested and hydrated and that and you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Also, please consider carefully if you wish to bring passengers along with you, and if they do, especially if you are not sure whether they might suffer from motion sickness. We will be using Carnity Channel 4 (446.08125Mhz) Our meeting point will be here, along Al Qudra - Solar Park Road: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uSP6NNtqggKT4DgL7 Should you have any difficulties, you may contact me at my mobile: +971-52-8222224. See you tomorrow afternoon by :2:00pm (sharp). Please do your best to reach on-time (or, possibly, a few minutes in advance), so we can orderly get ready by deflating / mounting our flags and gather for the briefing as fastly as possible in order to enjoy the maximum duration of the drive before sunset.

I will be posting all info shortly.

Dear @GauravSoni, congratulations for your deserved promotion. It is always a great pleasure to be in your company in a desert drive and if one thing is sure about you is that, should anything happen, you'll be there to help. Looking forward to the next drive toghether!

Hi @GratefulKRD, it looks you made it into the RSVP eventually. Dear @Fabien Monleau I removed you from the RSVP. Great to have you in the convoy!

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 Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Newbie Above (All Levels) When: 29 Oct 2021, Friday Meeting time: 02:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Qudra (TBA) 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: 06:00 PM Limited Spots Available: Limited to 12 cars only. 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 below link

I will definitely join! Ready to jump in, get winched or winch, whatever it will be..

Congrats @Aisha S, well done!

Great achievement @Lawrence_Chehimi and well deserved promotion. See you soon on the sand.

Congratulations @Raman_Dbx on a well deserved promotion. Looking forward to drive soon toghether.

It was nice coming toghether for the start of the winter off-roading season. A great thank you to all those at @Carnitywho joined and those who made this possible. Here are a couple of snapshots of Convoy 3 on its way to the camp site: Thanks @Jeepieand @Luca Palanca Falsini for your support and to @Alain Canivet-Abikhalilfor being our 2nd lead.

Hi @varunmehndiratta, as I said, it totally depends on the specific policy. When I took mine, I made sure the whole UAE is covered without limitations or exclusions or other covenants such as max distance from the road.

Yes, proper off-road coverage, if taken under a general comprehensive car insurance, should generally guarantee full recovery from offroad areas. Of course it is key to read the wording of the policy properly before taking it.. This below is an excerpt from my RSA Motor Smart policy:

Totally agree with @Srikumar's feedback. On top of it, personally, I would stress the importance of having a proper and comprehensive off-road insurance. This is something that very often is underestimated until it is too late. Yes, it is an extra cost but it is also extra peace of mind, whether you damage your vehicle, you damage someone else's one or you have a mechanical failure which requires a professional recovery. When any of these things happen, that extra cost all of a sudden becomes very small in comparison to the actual cost of the repairs or the recovery.