Athula Dharmadada

My brother's one(Dharmadasa) is correct. Slipped my mind when I was registering.😅 Anyways, see you again real soon. Take care!

We set off for the dunes early morning on Sunday once we arranged a recovery team; me driving my 2015 Pathfinder, my brother in a Land Rover Discovery that we borrowed and a mechanic. Once we entered the dunes, we removed the front bumper off the Pathfinder to avoid any potential collisions due to its low-clearance. Thereafter, using the tracks from our previous drives on Gaia Maps, I was able to direct myself and find a safe route towards the Superbowl where my Jeep Grand Cherokee was stranded. Once we got to the vehicle, our mechanic was able to seal the burst radiator well enough for it to be driven out of the dunes. On the journey back to the road from Superbowl, I drove my Pathfinder and Jeep across a couple of back-to-back bowls and gave the recovered Cherokee to my nephew Damiru to drive as he was the only other guy in our group with some desert experience. Subsequently, we were able to drive out of the dunes safely as we found our way out in a 3 vehicle convoy with me in the front with my Pathfinder, my nephew in the middle with the Jeep and my brother Yasas at the back with the Discovery. Once we got the Grand Cherokee out, we decided not to go back into the dunes on our own to get the Cherokee as the the uncertainties that came with the drive to the location where it was stranded(3x the distance of Superbowl) overweighed the certainties, not to mention the fact that we were unsure whether the Cherokee’s engine would start to begin with. As a result, without taking unnecessary risks, we called a desert recovery team. Long story short, the recovery Land Cruiser was able to reach the location with ease. Much to our relief, we were lucky enough to get the Cherokee’s engine to start working well enough for it to be driven out of the dunes without it having to be tugged; an absolute miracle. In conclusion, this recovery was undoubtedly challenging and mentally taxing but we were able to manage the situation genuinely without any fear or second guessing which would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the 6 months of consistent and progressive training we went through with our Carnity family. I want to personally thank all the marshals(@Frederic @Srikumar @Rahimdad @Gaurav @Ale Vallecchi @Vanessa8580 @Foxtrot Oscar @Brette @Wrangeld @Lorenzo Candelpergher @sertac @Jeepie) that taught me the ins and outs of desert driving, I couldn’t have asked for better. Needless to say, since my vehicle in its current condition has proved its incapability to handle future desert drives, I have no choice but to bid my farewell to our Carnity family until I get a new vehicle. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this amazing experience!

VID-20210221-WA0000.mp4

Congratulations @Lorenzo Candelpergher

Congratulations Toretto

Congratulations @VipinShetty

@Ale Vallecchi I hope yesterday's drive was a successful one and I'm sure it was by the looks of it. Just wanted to apologize for the inconvenience my Jeep caused during the drive even after repairing the power steering system the night before the drive. After further evaluation, it has come to my attention that the hose associated with circulating the power steering oil had burst, much to my surprise. From what I observed, this may have happened when my Jeep began to vibrate aggressively for atleast a few minutes straight which was when @VipinShetty saw the smoke coming through my hood. As of now, my Jeep's still undergoing further inspection and repairs but I will make sure I get a second opinion on its funtionality on dunes to avoid having to go through this unfortunate event again. Big thanks to everyone yesterday for being cooperative and patient.

Congratulations

Congratz @gautam

Congratulations @Brette

Congratulations @Ashok chaturvedi