Stellar Beginnings

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Petr
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This was my first ride after two months and I just switched from FJ Cruiser to 2-doors Wrangler, so I apologize the following lines are more about me experience than the drive itself, but someone may find it useful.

When I was coming to the meeting point, a lot of cars and their drivers have been eagerly waiting for the drive, which was the first regular one for most of them. I was eager too - no chance to drive in desert since mid November, and switching from FJ to JK made me anxious to see the difference.

I got to [mention]JockJKU[/mention]'s convoy together with my fellow support inter team [mention]Johanna[/mention], [mention]giorgio[/mention], [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] and [mention]Scorpio[/mention]. I was asked by Jock to sweep, which gave me a prefect chance to play at the end of the convoy. I had actually good chances to do so since our new members were doing great job. We had only one stuck car for the whole trip, and only a couple of second tries. Saeed and Scorpio helped a lot during the drive, so any difficulties the new members might have faced, were overcome easily.

I was a bit shy at the beginning to push my new Wrangler and myself to really do something that could be considered a test and that could give me understanding of the differences. But gradually I got a better feeling of the car and started to enjoy it. Since the JK is much lighter than the FJ, I found that keeping momentum is much less important than before. I was amazed how easily I can climb even if I didn't have any speed at the heel of the dune. I also found the gravity is not as tough counterpart for the JK as it was for the FJ - I kept easier the horizontal level at slopes and reaching crests from side seemed to be easier too. Generally, it is a very playful car and I got excited from the experience at the end. Of course I am yet to test it at higher speeds and more challenging terrain, where the SWB and the lower stability should keep me cautious. But today I was happy with the new feeling.

At the end of the ride we met the other convoy led by [mention]Booy[/mention] supported by the inter team [mention]rapailo[/mention], [mention]Issa[/mention], [mention]Youssef.Abdelhady[/mention] and [mention]Gabor[/mention]. We tasted the fresh and strong coffee of [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] and had a nice small talk before leaving home.

I cannot wait to get back.
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alshamsi_m
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Hello everyone

1/4 of the club members who joined us last week got their stars and started the journey of offroading. It was nice to see that some of them brought the family too.

Google update played a funny game with the new members. Marshals always choose the most convenient way to reach the meeting point without a hassle, so whoever followed Google for meeting point were coming from desert instead of the easy entrance which lead us to lesson number one " Get yourself a proper GPS or APP ".

We had the plan to drive around Al Hebab area and see some gazelles but we got busted by the Ranger you're kidding, right , well immediately our marshals made a change in the plan and directed both convoys to Margham area where end up our trip by enjoying sunset with coffee and chit chat.

Thanks [mention]JockJKU[/mention] for organizing the trip and happy to see [mention]Booy[/mention] taking the lead of our new family members.

Looking forward to see next week , get ready because the seats are going to be limited.

See you in the sand

Shamsi
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knifelight
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This was my second drive with Almost 4x4, and I enjoyed it over and over. Being a newbie trip, I was impressed about how many ex Club Member Drive participants enrolled for this first "official" drive. Actually, Google Maps did a trick and many of us have been fooled by indications towards the middle of nothing, but in the end no ne was lost in no man's land. Psmiley
Drive was smooth despite more "technical" than CM (as expected, of course), but still fully approachable given my driving skills. @Booy led us wisely and after meeting with the ranger we had to drive rally style drive flooring on the accelerator through a flat in the desert, reaching 100 kmh, something I would have never believed before OSMILEY .
We only had 1 stuck car while cresting, and it has been rescued with minimal effort.
I myself had a second try which was flawless.
At the end of the drive we had the opportunity to sit around, but unfortunately I had to leave before the impressive coffe maker set up by @Alshamsi_m was ready.
Look forward to see you in the sand for the next drive, guys!
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Tekton
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Hello everyone,

I would like to begin my report with Google map that sends me nowhere than all around until i find open desert to drive trough :D..., however i manage to get there on time with help of 4x4...

Starting from a meeting/deflating point, the brief was really nice and very accurate who needs to do what and how to behave during drive.

As my second drive with Club i felt more confident than the Club Member Drive which i believe allowed me to enjoy the ride even more...

What i loved about the area is, there was so many dunes even they small but it was very exiting going up down non stop.

The most exiting part of the drive was when we were driving around 120kph trough desert and to be honest the adrenalin was rushing trough my veins a lot, was little scary but thats what we came for right...

During the entire drive there was no much delays everyone was going smoothly until final destination, than we had a chance to chit chat with everyone and for that occasion there was very special coffee that was made by Marshal [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention], thank you for that...

Special thanks to Marshal [mention]Booy[/mention] for leading our convoy and everyone else who put their effort for us to enjoy the ride.

Here is the video that i made during drive and my favorite part is 7:06 till 7:15 so you may skip to that point if you are bored to watch entire video...

As usual don't dislike video i am still just a Newbie right :D...

Looking forward to see you coming Friday "heard rumors drive might happen so i will pray for it :)!!

Thanks once again,
Almost4x4 - Tekton
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giorgio
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Stellar Beginnigs:

After attending the camp the night before ( I left home and did not sleep at the camp) the next morning i forced myself to stay in bed as long possible just to reduce the waiting time for the afternoon drive.

Usually I do not set up the Garmin navigation for the meeting point. I usually prefer to just click on the link that the Marshall's post on the PM and drive to the spot. So this time was not any different.
On the last gas station I met [mention]Issa[/mention] but as i was entering he was exiting and we both agreed to meet each other on the meeting point.

As I continue my drive at one point the navigation re-direct me to exit the highway in an unusual way (over a curb) so i decided to not do that and find an alternative way, something that i did and eventually it worked out. Continuing my drive i found myself in a very unfamiliar area and in a combination of desert and gravel road. I 've been with the club long enough to have faith on our meeting given coordinates and navigation devices so although i was alerted i kept going until i caught up with [mention]Issa[/mention] and we both arrived on the meeting point on-time. To our surprise the meeting point was next to 77 with a beautiful gate which was wide opened. We both looked at each-other like WTF just happened why did we have to go through all that drama to get here. With no explanation of what has just happened we both agreed that since we got there then there was no point of discussing it further.

After preparing the car for the drive ( deflating and flag) i noticed a noise coming from the engine so I opened the bonnet to see what was wrong. Looking around i found what the problem was but I did not have the technical knowledge to name the part that was failing ( the next day when i visited the garage i found out that it was the water pump) but it looked descent enough to convince me that it will be no problem to continue my drive and not abort.

During briefing the Marshall's split the group in two convoys. [mention]Booy[/mention] took the drivers with the less drives and [mention]Joc[/mention] took the rest.

The drive started mild and slow as a warm up and the drivers were doing well. Through the drive we were encounter the other convoy all the time something that was forcing the lead Marshall to continuously re-routing to avoid any classes,

The drive slowly was getting more technical in some particular areas while the Marshall was slightly increasing the speed and there was where some drivers started to have problems (lost track, second tries, self recoveries , stucks)

The order of the convoy was [mention]JockJKU[/mention] as lead followed by me as second lead, [mention]Johanna[/mention] and [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] in the middle of the convoy [mention]Petr[/mention] as a sweeper and [mention]Scorpio[/mention] as a floater (thank you for all the support i saw you having your hands full throughout the drive job well done).

Suddenly and as we were driving we got a radio notification that we had been busted by the ranger and we needed to abort the area and cross the road to the other side.

After both convoys had crossed the road, the marshalls got together and in a short time they came up with a plan B and off we went for the new adventure.

The new terrain was much more challenging and the drive became faster. We continue pushing forwards with small delays until we all reached behind Sky-dive Dubai where was the ending point.

There [mention]JockJKU[/mention] announced the end of the drive and as a surprised to all he offered to all drivers a bonus drive to the sitting area where the two convoys will meet to sit and enjoy the sunset.

The drive to the rest point was even better than the actual drive with the exception of one major stuck ( 15 min delay) we all got to finally finish the drive and re-unite with the rest of the drivers.

We all enjoy the cool afternoon and had coffee (thank you [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] I really DID NOT enjoy that strong coffee that you offered me Psmiley

Some members including myself left earlier enjoying little more sand time before we inflate and go all back home.

As always it was a nice relaxing afternoon drive and all drivers did really well.

Job well done and looking forward to see you all next week

Until then drive safe
The Wolf is not concerned with the opinion of the sheep
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Johanna
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Hi everyone,

I was happy to see a lot of people I met one week before in the cm drive, welcome all new-Newbies to your second family grin

I camped the night before and enjoyed a lot of fantastic food cooked by [mention]giorgio[/mention] thanks man, great job as always thumbsup

Even if I am now perfectly equipped to camp comfortable even in cold nights, I was not able to get much sleep that night, so I was a bit tired when I reached the meeting point. But as soon as we started the drive, tiredness was replaced by the feeling of joy and happiness in love
We drove in two convoys, [mention]Booy[/mention] lead the fresh newbies while I joined [mention]JockJKU[/mention] convoy with the newbies who did already some drives with us.
I drove in the middle of the convoy, the first third of the drive was very smooth and the convoy flow nicely with nearly no interruption.
After we got caught by a ranger, the convoys had to change the track, and the level increased, in this part we had some minor issues, some second tries and lost tracks, but [mention]Scorpio[/mention] managed to get all the lost sheep back to the herd.
The last part was a bonus drive to the sitting area, it was technical and probably the most difficult part of the drive, so we arrived at the sitting area 15 min after schedule. When we arrived a felt deadly tired suddenly, not even one of [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] freshly made coffee could change that.
Seems I was not the only tired person, the convoys left towards the road after some snacks and chit chat at around 6.
As usual a great afternoon with new and old friends, I am looking forward to see you all in the next drive.
Have a nice week ahead everyone and see you all in the sand have a nice day
BR, Johanna

If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it.
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Scorpio
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Hello Everyone,

Although, I was dead tired after the morning marathon run but did not want to miss touching the sand psychotic secret laugh

On my way to the meeting point, I met with [mention]Shah[/mention] near the Outlet Mall. I was following GMap and the fun started when I took the exit and noticed that I was on a dirt-sand road. I kept moving and Shah also kept coming behind me as we both started enjoying some bonus drifting arr.. I met with I think 3 or 4 newbies on that dirt road who were not sure if this is the right way to the meeting point and were either stopped on the way or were turning back to go out on the road. Well, as per GMap, this was the way so, I kept moving and all the almosters stared joining the so-called convoy to the meeting point. The moment I had newbies on my back I told myself to behave, stop being naughty and drive them like a good boy to the meeting point thumbsup. As explained in the earlier trip reports, the meeting point was incredibly easy to reach to and was on the verge of a road but somehow the GMap wanted to make our life a little more interesting that day :lol: .

We had the attendance and briefing by [mention]JockJKU[/mention] and then two convoys were made. Jock was leading one of the convoy and [mention]Booy[/mention] (welcome back have a nice day) was leading the other. [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] was in Booy’s convoy (although during the drive I saw him appearing from everywhere ninja thumbsup).

I was in Jock’s convoy and was to float around. [mention]giorgio[/mention] was placed in the 2nd lead position and [mention]Petr[/mention] was to sweep our convoy. [mention]Johanna[/mention] and [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] strengthened the convoy by being placed in the middle.

The drive started off smoothly but everyone was informed that the area is technical and has sections of soft sand so, keep proper distance, and ensure radio communication. Jock took us to some nice technical areas and provided us an amazing terrain to not only enjoy the drive but also learn about the car throttle, car power, appropriate momentum, optimum speed at some sharp turns, easy looking but difficult soft sand climbs, bowls etc.

We had some second and third tries during the drive and convoy also lost the track couple of times but it was part of the learning and can be improved by ensuring proper distance between the cars (not too much otherwise, there is a chance of losing the track and also losing the opportunity to learn from the front car). I had a strong support from the Inters and we managed it without issues. There were couple of times I think, when I heard Jock telling Giorgio to go few meters to the left or right and that highlights the importance of an experienced 2nd lead to keep the whole convoy safe and tells us about the risks that the lead car takes for us. The drive was going quit well until we heard the news that we have to leave this area – some ranger was on our tail wtfsmilie.

So, Bu Salem and all the Marshals had a quick meeting and we jumped to the backup plan. The drive continued after that until we reach to the exit point where Jock mentioned that those who wants to leave can inflate here and those who want to have a bonus drive to the camping point can follow him. My energy level was near to zero you're kidding, right by that time so, I decided to leave from there.

Thank you Jock for the lovely drive and all the Inters for your continued support.

Thank you Bu Salem for the free almost4x4 T-Shirt have a nice day .

Cheers
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Morning All!

Great to see so many people again that converted from the CM drive only one week before!

We had 2 full convoys, [mention]Booy[/mention] took the brand new newbies and I took the other convoy with guys that had done 3+.

I believe we all had good fun and the area was interesting and provided a full range of challenges. Unfortunately we had to change the plan due to a Ranger giving us some grief, so instead of finishing near Nazwa, we changed to go to another of our camps to sit after the drive.

Due to the change in plan, we increased the pace and the convoy did well and made it on time to the road! Whoever wanted to continue for the bonus drive and sit down followed me from the road to the camp, which for me was the best part of the drive!! There is an easy way, and a technical way! I thought we had a bit of time before we lost too much light (and because i love technical) we took the technical route!!

Again, what was left of the convoy did well, we had one recovery and we were on our way again! We met the other convoy at the camp, had some chit chat and coffee, and then i took the early leavers back to the road!!

Thanks to the Inters and Crew for the support!!

Till next time,

Jock
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Alexandar
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My first newbie drive with the family. Application for this drive was funny as well. As I heard that slots fill up fast, I too camped in front of my computer hoping to get in a placement. It was shocking to see that slots fill up in 30 seconds.

As I write this report I can say I have had a content weekend. My wife and I had lovely BBQ with friends. Then on Friday we left our home to reach our meeting point around 1300.

Google was teaching us the first lesson in navigation. Don’t always rely on G maps. Use your own wits sometimes. As we approached the meeting point a number of jeeps were already present.

There is something about seeing a bunch of jeeps together mounted with flags reaching to the sky, that are about to go off road, that warms your heart.

We had our briefing where the tackle objectives of today’s drive was sharp, short dunes with steep ditches. @shamsi_m uttered his prophetic words that Pajero’s, Land Cruiser (Prado included) and newer model Fortuna’s were about to be shaved from the bottom.

I was in marshal @Booy convoy. Thank you for the lead marshal!

The dunes were certainly sharp and the ditches were quick. The ditches came up to you unexpectedly, you had to figure out your braking style in a fraction of a second. I was experimenting different braking styles trying to figure out what was the most efficient and comfortable. Unfortunately, one of the ditches decided to take advantage of my experiments. I hit the left side of my bumper and my bumper pop out. So as foretold my car is in the garage for service and fixing my bumper. I think the service adviser shook his head disapprovingly when I gave in my car.

Some where half away in to the drive, a ranger pop in to say hi and told us to bugger off the protected lands. He instructed us to get on the other side of the pipe line fence. Our exhaust tunes were troubling the gazelles siesta. Who knows maybe he saved my entire bumper from coming off.

Going on the other side of the fence meant re-planning our trip. The people who are tasked with making decisions decided that we follow an older trip called ‘sky high’. Which involved us getting to the other side of the high way by driving rally style across Margham towards Sky Dubai building. And we floored it. For the first time I was at 100 KPH driving fast through the desert.

We reached the Sky Dubai building and crossed the road to the other side to start a new track. I found this side easier. Either because the dunes was more forgiving here or I had learnt my car better. We reached our camp spot, positioned our car to face the setting sun. Sat down for some Mocha coffee and dates and chit chatted with everyone.

The trip taught me how much throttle is required. You need to understand when to press it and when to let go. When it comes to braking in the desert that by itself is an art form.

Thank you to all the marshals, floaters and sweepers for looking out for us.

Till the next trip!

Regards,
Teena & Alex
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Saeed FJ
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Hello every one
Today I was in Jock convoy, I was assigned in the middle of the convoy, but while we were having fewer drivers I was almost at the end of the convoy, nice and an interesting track was selected by Jock in the technical area.

our convoy moved smoothly with no issue, only a few second tries. and before the end of the drive when we reach to Dubai Sky Dive, the marshal announce the end of the official drive, anyone wants to leave he can inflate and leave and anyone would love to join the others for the camp area for while then he can follow for bonus dive, tile we reach the camp area where we meet the other convoy.

during the drive, I could take some photo, sorry I couldn't cover all the convoy

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

hope you like it

see you on sand soon
Abu Madi
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