Gok Krish

@Kailasthis is my second drive, request to be in waitlist

One minute is all it took to get the RSVP full 💪. Look forward to it @Lorenzo Candelpergher

14 hours ago, Srikumar said:

Convoy 1 : Trip Report

After our quick morning greetings, at the break of dawn, Convoy 1 and 2 departed towards the huge bowls and dunes that Shuwaib has to offer.

As we started scaling the first set of dunes, we heard the message on the radio that Rob's beast had a nose dive in one of the pockets. The impact seemed to have disturbed all the sensors along with a bit of bumper damage. After resetting the computer the sensors seemed to have been working properly as he was driving for next hour or so at a brisk pace through all the bowls and hills.

As we reached approx the half way mark to Iftar Bowl, we reached a massive bowl which was begging to be ridden on. With the fantastic set of drivers and cars I took the adventurous route of exiting the bowl by crisscrossing on the top of the dune on to the other side. As all the cars were making it through, it brought a smile to my face till we saw Rob's car getting stuck on the slip face. It took a while for us to realise that his car had stalled and after a few moments of stalling the side airbags were deployed. It was the first time I have seen the side airbags getting deployed in a Japanese car. Probably the fact that it was a US Spec car could explain the cause. It again showed that regardless of the brand or origin of the car, it's best that the side airbags are always deactivated especially on higher level drives.

With the seat belt tensioner also gone it was felt best that we exited Rob. It was a day where things didn't go exactly as per plan.

As the weather was still bearable, the entire convoy felt that we could spend another hour in the desert. So we reentered at Super Bowl and we spent the next hour of one of the most intense fast paced drives that I have been a part of. As I kept pushing the pace, climbing higher the convoy responded beautifully in perfect sync.

Among the chaos of multiple convoys in that area we found an opening that provided a smooth momentum to the top of both Super Bowl and later Iftar Bowl. It felt like all the other convoys had come to a standstill while our convoy was making an attempt.

Brilliant driving by everyone @Rizwanm2 @Gok Krish @Goutam @Rob H @Hisham Masaad @Kailas Thank you for participating in this drive which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Hope to catch up with you guys soon on another fast paced IM drive. Till then take care.

What a smasher of a drive ... @Srikumaryou made it feel so easy for us, helped us to build some more finesse in handling the approaches with speed! I wanted to sleep after that before heading to Swehan drive but could not as there was a lot of adrenalin, dopamine etc etc mixed in in the blood! It is a drive to remember. 

Does this drive require a RT PCR Test ?

I am delighted to join....Look forward to it...CONFIRMING!!

Pls add me to Waitlist, thanks! I am not on any other drive this weekend. Missed to register in time. But I will have my COVID test done on Wednesday after drive with Ale and be ready just in case it opens up.... 

Usual suspects already in  ... Rob and Thomas. I am in. @Ale Vallecchithanks for the opportunity

@Foxtrot Oscar Thanks for the great drive...I did not escape the refusals, had a couple of mini ones having to stop at awkward positions and in churned up sands while navigating the bowls in the first dune...it is still learning in progress to where to stop when the convoy stops ahead. Allow me to say that your persistence and determination by making approaches from many different routes to get us all across that last but one dune was amazing. This was my first drive with you, lots of learning to achieve the finesse of handling challenges and look forward to more...Yalla Yalla!! 

@Alexander Alcala Following you made it easy for me to copy paste! and make it through the challenging ones...thanks. 

hi @Kailasthis is my 2nd drive - please waitlist me for this...thanks

@Chaitanya Dit was a brutal first 45 minutes in those small dunes going technical. We were falling like dominos, desert is a great leveller as u said. Later part on the long dunes, multiple and continuous crisscrossing, some ridge driving were just what the Doctor ordered ..WE WANT MORE....WE WANT MORE ... Was finding catching up with u and @Pacificinitially difficult. @Rob H@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQthanks for the little lesson on modesty about how to accept praise @Lawrence_Chehimigood to see u again. @Thomas VargheseAwesome to drive with u again. Apart from the resourceful rope, cutting player that u had, how did u have also a small hammer in your tool kit ! @Rizwanm2good to know u. Look forward to driving more. @Pacificour convoy sequence from fewbie days is same, great to followu and thanks for flatenning the bump beofre I landed, hope car is okay. 

3 hours ago, Gaurav said:

Congratulations @Islam Soliman for reaching the Expert Level with Carnity Offroad Club.

Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment.

Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details.

 

EXPERT - Carnity Exclusivity

Carnity Benefits	Off-road Certification with rank and skills achieved Full access to Carnity without any paid subscription Join any drive in “Manage” tab even when drive is full
Carnity Contribution	Committed to drive with Carnity off-road club only Lead/Support: 3 drives or more per month at least Forum contribution to earn Carnity points
Drives Attended (Indicative)	Minimum 10 drives are required for Expert promotion along with mandatory attendance to leaders lead drives. (Promotion will be based on Marshal / Crew feedback.)
What you'll learn	Navigating with or without GPS on the fly Trip planning, safety exits and recce skills Basic firefighting and first aid techniques Basic knowledge of car and overheating issues Minimal response to vehicle breakdown and accidents
Skills required	Resilient, calculative and rational thinker Self-reliance, positive attitude and forward thinking Kind, selfless and considerate to other’s concerns
Car Worthiness	Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires
Off-road gear required	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, Floor jack and jack board, tire repair kit, tool box, tie-down straps, fluids.
Drive teamwork	Lead Fewbie or Intermediate drive with Marshal permission Inspect vehicle for safety before the off-road drive Support Marshal to learn 1:1 Desert Driving Course
Drive Joining	All Levels
Forum participation	Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Hi @Islam SolimanGreat stuff...Congratulations. Lead the way for the rest of us. Look forward to joining your drives again

@Chaitanya D Hello Just what the Dr ordered, pun intended! Look forward to driving with you again after a long time after my first Fewbie Plus drive near Big Red, that is way back in November last year...thanks for posting this....I am sure it is going to be adventurous with your promise of maneuvers in the dark! 

1 hour ago, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

DRIVE REPORT 

Dear Desert Wanderers, 

I guess this was one of those drives that will be remembered by all those who attended it for some time. 

After many drives in known areas, today we had a chance to explore a new territory, an absolute novelty for @Carnity drives, and it was certainly a challenging but rewarding experience for us all.

Al Bataeh area, believed for long time inaccessible due to the extensive fencing visible from the nearby roads, is - in fact - a hidden gem, offering a very challenging terrain with beautiful views on irregular an complex terraced dunes, with sudden passages from high grounds to low grounds gifting a great travel experience. 

We started quite on time, making our entry in the desert from the Ibn Rasheed roundabout at 5:25am. 

After crossing a rather flat area with small dunes and some occasional rock formations, we moved past the farms, drove along some long ridges and entered the first technical area of the drive. It was a amazing terrain, with some long east/west ridges mixed with some very irregular dune complexes, characterised by multiple terraced layers, with totally virgin sand, looking incredibly appealing for our a climbing attempts. 

The significant technical level of the drive became very soon evident as we started collecting refusals and stucks one after the other, especially at the back, where the big trucks had to fight through very churned sand: @Ale Vallecchi's drive, after just a few mins, was clearly going to be all about managing such situation, while I had the luxury, at the front, of a couple more breaks than usual allowing me to take a few nice photos. 

As we slowly made our way north, the convoy progressively came to terms with the terrain, which was however extremely technical with lots of complex passages and unpredictable soft patches. 

As @Ale Vallecchi commented, today's drive felt in many way an exploration adventure: we really had to find out way though a totally virgin and absolutely not obvious to read terrain, where we never met a single track of any other car. 

@Arman was a great second lead, always careful and responsive to my last second rerouting and careful at stopping early enough when I had a refusal (and I had quite a few today). 

@imranaasghar81 and @Abdul Rahman AK at their first intermediate drive, were both "tempered" by today's thrilling drive, demanded to get to the very best out of their driving capabilities, which they both brilliantly exhibited..

@Gok Krish, after the last mid-week prep session in Little Sweithan drive, again showed a brilliant performance, including his ever first tug recovery helping @Rizwan Waheed out of a crested situation. His flashing brand new green shackles and rope finally got some satisfaction. 

@Niki, based on a few chats exchanged during occasional breaks, greatly enjoyed the explorative nature of the drive, discovering the new landscape as it materialised after each tricky climbing passage. 

@Javier Lucero led his JK flawlessly, certainly appreciative of his car's great capabilities, especially in this beautiful but deceiving terrain. 

@Rizwan Waheed had a hard time today, driving constantly in churned sand, quite at the back of the convoy, worsened by an apparently leaking valve (best to have it checked). A few stucks and refusals, (including a tug from @Dodi Syahdar quite early in the drive) where to be expected and are only the demonstration that the ride was all but an easy one today. 

@Dodi Syahdar has frequently joined my drives recently, and I am quite sure he found today's drive among the most challenging ones, adding new experience and polishing his driving skills further. 

I often found myself wondering, while leading through some nasty passages, whether I was demanding too much from the poor guys driving those giant trucks at the back, but to my relief they all did well, including @Rob H and @Shehab Alawadhi who both made it across the worst patches of soft sand and the tightest maneuvering spots. 

@Ale Vallecchi was the hero of the day: with so many stucks and refusals he was all over the place, helping everyone out and fighting himself trhough soft and churned up sand. He certainly deserves a special mention today as he managed an endless number of situations. 

Once we reached sufficiently up north, we crossed the sabkha and started the 2nd stint of the drive, by far the most spectacular and emotional one for the day. Our route took us south again via the higher grounds on the west side of the sabkha, from where, bordering the edge of those high terraced dunes, the convoy could enjoy a spectacular view, with the sun already quite high. While driving so close to the edge from an elevated position and with such a view out of the window, I felt a great sense of achievement mixed with gratitude to have the chance to lead trhough such an amazing place. 

As a cherry on our cake, we even met two groups of camels: I took a quick photo, but it doesn't make justice to the beauty of the view from up there:

Even when @Abdul Rahman AK got stuck in a treacherous pocket and was in need of being winched out, the whole setting, landscape, and light was spectacular and I guess was worth the waiting for the rest of the convoy. 

By 9:30am it was clear we were never going to make if for the 3rd and final stint of the drive, the one that was meant to tkae us north again all the way to E102 and then, eventually out in Al Bataeh. 

It was therefore decided that we would cut our drive short, so we hit the sabkha at the bottom of the high grounds we were driving through, and from the sabkha we quickly made our way out, eventually reaching the same roundabout where we had started our journey earlier in the day. 

Overall, we drove 40.4km in a total of 4h 40' of which 2h 40' moving and 1h 40' stopped, with a very low moving speed of just 15.1km/h: these data tell a lot about how technical the drive was.

Everyone did very well today, and I hope you all enjoyed this drive as much as I did. As the 1st @Carnity drive in Al Bataeh, it will always have a special place in my memories and I'm glad I had you all with me today. 

After what I've seen today, I think an Extreme Drive in this area will be coming soon.. Stay tuned! 

Congratulations to all and see you soon on the sand again! 

Hi @Lorenzo Candelpergher  This was a meditation kind of experience for the three hours. One had to be connected to only one thing, i.e. the terrain that was changing every second requiring utmost focus and attention. Very short distances to gain momentum to climb, sharp drops and turns were the highlights...it was an utmost concentration drive. This is also my first technical drive. Keeping a bit of distance from car in front also helped in avoiding mini refusal situations and thanks for allowing it by keeping the speed of the drive that way. You leads take all the risks judging what is ahead , still make it safe and interesting for the rest of us.

Hi @Ale Vallecchi like Lorenzo said, you were coming from nowhere always for every search and rescue operation. And thanks for entrusting the chance to do a tug, my first one that too.

@Arman  @Niki  @Abdul Rahman AK @Dodi Syahdar   Good to see u all...thanks for sharing tips 

Overall smashing experience guys...

1 hour ago, Gok Krish said:

Pls put me on waitlist.  Thanks @Islam Soliman

adding that this is my 2nd drive in the weekend

Pls put me on waitlist.  Thanks @Islam Soliman

On 5/16/2021 at 5:55 PM, RooRzOn said:

Congrats @Anish S👏👏👏

Terrific @Anish SLead the way!

Added a short video folks - more also to be posted, there are some more jaw dropping stuff to share!

@Hisham Masaad thanks,  i was following you....that made it easy looking at the finesse with which you are crisscrossing etc.

 @Ahab Shamaa thanks for the pep talks in break times and valuable advice to keep more space between me and car in front, it became better

 @Rob H, hello, got to say hello to you

 @Watteau Good to see you again guys, as always fun

Pak @Dodi Syahdar, likewise, great to meet you and look forward to driving more with  you

 @Nivin, good to know you from the start of the drive....seeing new friends in this level, awesome...

@Lorenzo Candelpergher what a wonderful route you took us through, small area but so much variations to catch up within short distances....exhilarating stuff after some stagnation of adrenalin in Fewbie drives. as always, thanks for taking us safe while keeping it adventurous.

Finally, my Car says Sorry for getting hot ending the drive a bit prematurely...I will do some video editing and post shortly, some nice shots have come...

5 minutes ago, Abdul Rahman AK said:

Thank you Gok Krish, look forward to driving with you soon at IM level 👍

there is a mid week drive - Lorenzo has posted....join in .. same goes to @PacificDr.

Terrific @Lorenzo Candelpergherfor posting this drive as a precursor for another drive I am going with you in the weekend...thanks for taking time out during the weekday to do this...

Hi Abdul Rahman, awesome man...great stuff... 

@Gaurav @Ale Vallecchi  @Wrangeld @Kailas @Frederic @Rahimdad @Brette @Anish S @Islam Soliman @Srikumar @Vanessa8580 @Chaitanya D  @Tbone

Thanks to the system, the mentors whose guidance and support have been the foundation through this enjoyable experience and learning process.....and also the peers with whom I enjoyed driving in repeat drives....learnt from everyone. Thanks again and best wishes for everyone to stay safe...