JeromeFJ

Bravo Gerrit, promotion well deserved. You will enjoy the next level !

Thank you @varunmehndiratta for the drive this morning. You made sure the full western area Qudra was covered, and no dune remains untouched by our wheels ! Very well done for all the convoy, capable drivers in capable vehicles! @Sam K thank you for the FJ tips, @george charbel, well done with the manual Jeep, @RiaanJH @Haitham Khattab @takeshi sobue It was a pleasure to drive with you. See you next time !

I enjoyed very much the drive this morning. This short convoy format was perfect to explore the variety of terrains of this Faqa area. Also good to be more specific in the coaching of each driver according to his experience, and the car he is driving. As expected, we had very soft sand from the beginning, and I was the first one to misjudge a ridge apparently round and smooth…. and being dragged into a pocket, stuck with a weird angle. A cautious self recovery got me out. A bit later a first criss crossing was an excellent demonstration of the #dontfightgravity thing. Two cars had a dangerous fishtailing, and I stopped everyone for a reminder. After this warmup, we could enjoy the empty dunes, passing from the semi-technical area, to bigger dunes, crossing straight or criss crossing, working on the momentum to keep the car moving at the right pace. We had some bigger dunes where the most experienced drivers could play with the balance of their car on the sharp ridges. Each convoy member was focused and concentrated, and improved during the drive itself. This allowed us to complete a full loop of 60 km, coming back at our starting point. The average moving speed was 20.1 km/h, very respectable for a FB drive. @Alfred Alinazar Thank you for the 2nd lead. You were stopping when needed, and adjusted the route for the rest of the convoy. You have a safe handling of your car. @takeshi sobue very good drive, but don’t rely too much on your car. You can improve being more focused on the lines the cars in front are taking. @Shahid Mehmood, good drive also, you were attentive to the explanations during the drive, and the benefit was there. @Lucky sAm nice to see a new FJ in the convoy. Once you will get used to the car, you will enjoy pushing its capabilities. @Richard Franks always a pleasure to have you in the convoy. The red jeep is very reliable, even if it was challenged a bit on the high ridges @Daniel Rodas a big thank you for the sweep and assistance during recoveries. Your driving with the Pajero is flawless ! Thank you all for participating to the drive this morning with an excellent spirit, enjoy the rest of the weekend ! Please post photos or comments if you have.

Last update for tomorrow morning (no change, only confirmation of previous elements) Meeting at 5:15 am at https://goo.gl/maps/WbWFK5iwurzey1dF8 Convoy Order Radio Channel 2 @Alfred Alinazar @takeshi sobue @Shahid Mehmood @Lucky sAm @Richard Franks @Daniel Rodas Take a good rest, and see you all tomorrow morning !

Excellent choice !

Dear Desert Drivers @Alfred Alinazar @takeshi sobue @Shahid Mehmood @Lucky sAm @Richard Franks @Daniel Rodas We will have a short convoy tomorrow, perfect configuration to go through the hot sands of Faqa. As you know from your recent drives, the sand will be soft, the temperature will rise very rapidly, we might have some wind... real desert conditions, but still good to enjoy a nice ride. Remember that momentum is key in these conditions, to keep your car moving and to "float" on the soft patches. The sand is soft, and soft shall be your driving. Avoid any sharp turn, sudden acceleration or breaking, keep your car moving, especially on ridges, or on flat soft pockets, and when you need to stop, do it as far as possible on an incline (downwards) or on hard surface. Also the slip faces will be even more slippery, so don't take any chance, go straight down, and avoid any situation where you will get stuck sideways on a steep incline. I will confirm the convoy order later this afternoon. Please let me know incase you change your plan. @Lucky sAm, please confirm which car you will take. Stay tuned for the next update !

Thank you @Gerrit Bus ! Nice pics and extracts of the drive events as usual. The foggy atmosphere is amazing, looks like in the middle of the winter !

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for the fun drive yesterday afternoon. We were totally in line with the concept, a group of friends wandering through the desert, guided by a nice line of dune crests, a group of trees to watch from closer, a few oryxes or gazelles to chase, or just a nice end of the afternoon light, making this dune more attractive than the other. Still the sand was soft, the crests sharp, the ridges tall, and full attention and control was required from all of us. Maybe the relaxed atmosphere led to more stucks than expected. Considering the burning afternoon heat, we used more directly the rope than the shovel, to save time and energy. Thank you all for joining, and bringing a good spirit to the drive!

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. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Fewbies and Above When: 25 June 2022 Saturday Meeting time: 5:15 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/WbWFK5iwurzey1dF8 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: 9:15 AM PS: COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Friday- 2:00pm 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 Calendar below

Very happy birthday my friend @M.Seidam 🎉🎉🎉

Let’s admit it, the drive this morning was a bit frustrating. It is very rare to have the fog for so long in the morning. And a fog so thick that it prevents driving. So here we were, this morning, after a short night, extending the briefing until we cleared the very last question, and repeated again not to fight gravity. Despite the thick fog we were in, I decided to start moving, and at least reach the moon lake (moon pond could be more appropriate, but much less evocative). GPS is a beautiful tool, and I had to brake just before diving in ! After another 15min around the lake, watching the birds, fog was still there, preventing to access the tall dunes close to the lake. thinking that the lakes maybe were holding more fog, I decided to leave the area to come closer to Ghantoot, our objective for the day. We reached the oryx farm just in time to see the oryxes just being fed, coming out of their fence, running into the dunes and vanishing in the fog. And still, despite a bit of blue sky above us, we had to wait another 20 min to have enough visibility. Finally we could enter the dunes, to find difficult conditions, where the soft sand of the area was soaked with humidity, and heavy below our wheels. We did not have a proper warmup, and arriving straight in this difficult environment was not easy. The dunes are narrow, the crests sharp, and deep pockets of sand are everywhere, even on the flat portions. We had some nice rolling parts, ending suddenly in a steep succession of narrow bowls. Each of you did very well, including for the recoveries during the inevitable stucks. All of them where resolved with a combination of shovelling, self recoveries, a few tugs, and a great team spirit, under the efficient guidance of @Looper and @Rob S. But with the heat building up, and the humidity still so high, each shovelling part was becoming a real physical effort. And we were already at the planned exit time ! I decided to shorten this Ghantoot portion to reach the pylon track and the sabkha and to cross in direction of the Bab Al Shams road. This last portion was hiding a few surprises, with these long cordon of dunes perpendicular to our way, of course slip faces against us! Navigating through the vegetation, and crossing one dune after the other, we reached the tarmac by 10 am. @Paolo Pellegrini thank you for the excellent 2nd lead, stopping in time when I was ending in a dead end, or when crossing a dune, I was facing rocks just below my wheels. @Emanuel, well done in this difficult terrain, you become more and more confident. @Suresh K I can see your progression drive after drive, you gained a lot of confidence, and it reflect on your driving. @Zulfikhar Naiyar well done also, you had a difficult stuck, the front and the back touching the edges of a bowl, and managed well to recover after shovelling and reducing the tire pressure. @FiNaR for your first Fewbie, it was not an easy one, and manoeuvring the F150 in the tight dunes was not easy. You did very well, using sometime of that power that is available. @Rob S great support as usual. Your own driving is totally under control in this environment, and you are always there to spot a car in difficulty and to actively support recoveries. Thank you. @takeshi sobue amazing progress since last time we drove together. The FJ is now under control, and I’m sure you enjoy the drives. It was a pleasure to have you with your family. @Gerrit Bus no issue at all, despite the churned tracks at the back of the convoy. Very good control of the Gladiator. @RiaanJH very well driven also, you are ready for your first FB + anytime! @Looper thank you for the sweep and the support on the recoveries. Having you at the back was very confortable for me ! enjoy the rest of the weekend, and definitely we have to go back to complete the full stretch of the Ghantoot dunes !

Dear Desert Drivers A few additional information for the drive tomorrow: Meeting will be 5:15 am at https://goo.gl/maps/4UiLiier2aPomBdz6 The convoy order will be We will use radio Channel 3. Please check your gears and take a good rest to be able to enjoy fully the drive tomorrow !!

Dear Desert Drivers, On Saturday morning, we will explore the South West part of Al Qudra. Starting from the track where most of us have done our Absolute Newbie drive, we will pass the Moon Lake, and start the drive with the tall dunes just behind. Nice rolling dunes to warm-up and enjoy the sunrise. Then we will cross the cycle path and the pylon track to enter the Ghantoot area. Expect more narrow dunes, sharp crests, soft sand. We will find our way along the long dunes cordon until we reach the fence making the end of this area. Depending on how we progress, we will either turn back a bit, and exit close to Bab al Shams, of reach more directly the E14 to the South. We have good chances to spot oryxes, have your camera ready ! I will finalize the convoy order tomorrow afternoon, let me know by midday in case you changed you plan.

Thanks for informing me @BHANU PRAKASH VISHWANATH. See you next time

Amazing compilation @Gerrit Bus ! Thank for sharing, ... and taking the time to edit, format, prepare !!!!

Hi Tim @TT_Dubai sorry to miss you this week, but with a happy wife, you are buying credits for next drives !! See you soon hopefully

Thanks @Niki, hopefully we can share a drive very soon !

Well done @Jose Thomas, keep progressing with care and enjoy !

Congratulations @Beide Worku, promotion very well deserved ! Always a pleasure to have you in the drive !

Congratulations @Gregory, Excellent progression !!

Congratulations @Jona, very well done !

I’ve added you as attendee