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optimus
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Dear All.....Good evening!

I reached at the meeting point at around 8 am. The place was filled with multi level off-road friends. The newbies were devided into 2 convoys, the 10 plus, that was our group was lead by [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] , [mention]thiagomachado[/mention] was assigned the 2nd lead, [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] was sweeping as well as floating, keeping his hawk eyes on the convoy, making sure we are manouvering well as per the safety standards. Thanks Bu Jimmy!

I loved the drive. We did some big arches, high side wall’s, few small side crests, a drop some technical stuff. It was kind of mix and match. The area we were driving in had a lot to offer, but I could sense that [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] was holding his reins 🐎 🐎 (convoy rules apply) 😁😁

I wish 🤞 one day we all would go there again conquer those razor sharp crests, leave our tread marks on them & flatten those dunes. ✌️

Everyone in our convoy did well apart we had a pop out, couple of stucks and few second tries.

Last but not the least I would like to thank 🙏[mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] for organizing the drive and [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for the lead!

We, the almost4x4 rocks!💪🏻💪🏻


Till next time!
Optimus
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Thiago
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What a drive it was, for sure the best one so far. I'm so happy and still thinking about it.
I arrived at night but once the sun came out we could see the wonders of that particular location and to be honest I just want to go explore it first thing in the morning.
We had a nice time by the fire waiting for the other club members with some food, coffee and karak.
Once every one arrived the Intermediates got sent away to the Solo drive and we 10+ had the safety briefing and that is when i found out that I was going to be the second car following [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] . Of course it was intimidating to be right behind a great offroader but I was also felling honored and i tried my best to keep up with him.
[mention]Rashidjass[/mention] took us to some incredible places and we all felt very safe with the level of the drive and the watchful eyes of the master [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] .
We had the chance to experience and enjoy some pretty big dunes and every one did well.
I can't wait till we can get back there.
Thank yo so much for this memorable opportunity [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] and [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] and all the others involved to make this happen.
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Haani
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Sweihan!

The day started off with a drive through dense fog with about 50m visibility if not less.

To make things worse, parts of the truck road had no lights on and it was a 2 way road with little markings😬

I drove with [mention]seems[/mention] and then met up with [mention]Barish[/mention] and [mention]vijayp[/mention] just as we reached Sweihan. The beauty of Sweihan soon dawned upon us.

The intermediates started first followed by the +10 and the 10-.

[mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] gave me the honour of being second in the convoy while [mention]Solmaz[/mention] lead us. Safe to say that I had butterflies in my stomach throughout the first part of the drive.

Coincidently, this was also my first drive with 0 second tries. I think it was because I kept plenty distance and focus on maintaining that distance. I also kept in mind a tip I read from a trip report written by [mention]giorgio[/mention]. If I remember correctly, it was [mention]JockJKU[/mention] who advised him the following. Giving a little throttle just before the wheels touch the dune helps the front end lift and as a result the car glide over the dune with less of an impact.

The drive was smooth with few second tries. There was however one unsuspecting aspect to the drive, atleast for the first 3 cars.

[mention]Solmaz[/mention], myself and [mention]vijayp[/mention] plentered a bowl/Ravine. Upon entering, the convoy was instructed to stop and hold position. However, for the 3 of us, it was too late.

This was the moment [mention]Solmaz[/mention] asked me "Are you excited?!"

[mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] got into [mention]vijayp[/mention]'s fortuner and made his way out soon after showing us all that skill comes first, much before the cars capability.

[mention]JockJKU[/mention] then marked a ditch on the climb out and [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and I soon made our way out.

The drive ended with all the members meeting at a point with some trees. We then drove back towards the road.

It was my 10th drive and I am ecstatic to see what is instore for me in 10+

See you all soon,
Haani
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knifelight
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Two hours.
This is what we waited before leaving for this drive, which for me was the third.
Someone might think it was a waste of time for people who got up at 5 am and drove through the deepest fog ever. kirbehsmiley2
Nothing would be more mistaken. Those were indeed two hours of fun, chit-chatting, catching information from more experienced offroaders, and finally having an excellent coffee (the best available in the desert, anyway XD ).
But first things first.
We reached the meeting point in Sweihan straightforward, thanks to the perfect indications given by [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] (thaks for replying me at night Psmiley ). Fog was scary, but when sunlight came through it was exciting to see ourselves approaching our destination.
Actually, deflating point was few hundred meters from where others camped the night before, and we joined while [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] was preparing the biggest Italian style coffee maker ever seen thumbsup .
Intermediate were called for their solo challenge and it was exciting thinking what this group is preparing buddies to do!
10+ drivers catched up and formed the first convoy, while we were waiting for [mention]JockJKU[/mention] for finishing his higher degree duties with the intermediates. This was when we had a chance to exchange experiences and opinions.
So, time flew and we were ready to go in a buzz when [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] gave us instructions together with [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention]. After a quick briefing, [mention]Solmaz[/mention] lead us through an amazing trip through dunes and sky, and we were lucky Marshals decided to go there after 11 years since their last time. Convoy proceeded smoothly and I was the last car before [mention]JockJKU[/mention]. There were few second tries (including mine) and maybe a couple of stucks. We had to stop for further deflate after few kilometers from our start. Convoy reached The Old Lady dune, with its suggestive eyecatching profle. [mention]Tekton[/mention] in front of me was documenting all the drive with his GoPro, so guys, believe me: I was doing the exact same things he did, even if I am not in his shooting! cool
We ended up in meeting the other convoys in a big flat terrain with some trees and we proceeded quickly to the inflation point, where we had the opportunity to chit chat over again.
It was really amazing! My son and I wish to thank everyone took part in the drive and I really hope we can meet you all next Friday!
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alshamsi_m
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Hello everyone

I had a good sleep from the camp in Thursday night. While I was my tent which was totally isolated from everything including the day light, I could hear the members gathering but I was not in hurry at all grin .

We had the briefing for the Solo challengers then our convoy members sat down chit chatting about " Rollovers " well I hope we didn't scare them brigade.baka-wolf.com .

Once [mention]JockJKU[/mention] arrived, we formed the convoy positions and [mention]Solmaz[/mention] took the lead.

The area has promising potential for more than 5- level which made it challenging for our leaders. Nevertheless, our Solmaz managed to give us a beautiful route and take us out safely .

The second part of drive which was after the fence a good excise for the newbies to over come their fear from the Crest.

It was nice to come across the newbies 10+ from time to time and we were trying to reach at the same time

BFG Advertisement !!!


While we were driving the first part we came a cross the 10+ and I noticed that they were gathering around [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] 's so diffidently the marshals will turn to help any other marshal "Marshals' Code".

I Stopped next to the other conovy and the add started

Me : are you guys ok ?? we all gonna die
Optimus : We need to change the tyre of the car because it has a cut in the side wall you're kidding, right
Me :
Are you replacing it with BFG tyre ??
Optimus :YES slow
Me : BFG is NUMBER ONE with thumbsup

The next thing they saw was my FJ ... zoooooooming away Psmiley


Once we left Solmaz & I burst in laughing because it sounded like cheesy add

Till next time , stay safe and see you in the sand

P.S : Get ready for a Saturday drive !! arr.
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giorgio
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Haani wrote: Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:42 pm Sweihan!

The day started off with a drive through dense fog with about 50m visibility if not less.

To make things worse, parts of the truck road had no lights on and it was a 2 way road with little markings😬

I drove with @seems and then met up with @Barish and @vijayp just as we reached Sweihan. The beauty of Sweihan soon dawned upon us.

The intermediates started first followed by the +10 and the 10-.

@alshamsi_m gave me the honour of being second in the convoy while @Solmaz lead us. Safe to say that I had butterflies in my stomach throughout the first part of the drive.

Coincidently, this was also my first drive with 0 second tries. I think it was because I kept plenty distance and focus on maintaining that distance. I also kept in mind a tip I read from a trip report written by @giorgio. If I remember correctly, it was @JockJKU who advised him the following. Giving a little throttle just before the wheels touch the dune helps the front end lift and as a result the car glide over the dune with less of an impact.

The drive was smooth with few second tries. There was however one unsuspecting aspect to the drive, atleast for the first 3 cars.

@Solmaz, myself and @vijayp plentered a bowl/Ravine. Upon entering, the convoy was instructed to stop and hold position. However, for the 3 of us, it was too late.

This was the moment @Solmaz asked me "Are you excited?!"

@alshamsi_m got into @vijayp's fortuner and made his way out soon after showing us all that skill comes first, much before the cars capability.

@JockJKU then marked a ditch on the climb out and @Solmaz and I soon made our way out.

The drive ended with all the members meeting at a point with some trees. We then drove back towards the road.

It was my 10th drive and I am ecstatic to see what is instore for me in 10+

See you all soon,
Haani
You remembered correct I wrote it Jock said it. Glad it came handy
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Tekton
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Dear Everyone,

I would like to begin with fog on the road :D somewhere in Abu Dhabi GPS says truck road..., the visibility was like 2 3 meter ahead but that didn't slow me down to accelerate max speed limit and to get to the meeting point and deflate tiers before 8AM :D...

When we all gather up there was lovely [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] coffee that nearly gets you a heart attack how strong it is but anyway we lived to see another day :D...

After coffee there was a call for intermediate drivers and it was really fantastic to hear how [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] & [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] were briefing drivers with extreme safety precautions to assure everyone comes back safely.

After intermediate and newbie 10+ brief we had to wait for them to leave area so meanwhile we had a chitchat and opportunity to hear [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] & [mention]Solmaz[/mention] crazy stories about rolling over cars, engine brakes etc etc :D...

When the time finally comes to start our drive we gather and line up convoy than start accelerating.

Convoy was going smoothly until some point where i believe tires inflated due to sun heat and we had first stack in the sand, than [mention]JockJKU[/mention] give us instructions to make sure we deflate again to 10psi.

After deflating we proceed with drive and it was amazing experience, we were doing some cresting, up & down driving on a edge of dunes I would say there was pretty much of everything...

When we reached at the Old Lady Dune it was astonishing landscape to view with palms & trees on the middle of nowhere!! I just wish my wife was with me to view that beauties...

When we all reached at end drive meeting point than convoy was gathered and we all drove together to the inflating point, it was amazing to see that many cars lining up and driving together.

The entire drive was extreme fun with grate opportunity to enhance our driving skills and as Marshals said at very beginning, we were the first -10 drives who ever come across Sweihan Desert!! So ya i believe that word speak for it self...!!

At inflating point when almost everyone left i stayed with [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] [mention]knifelight[/mention] and one more gentlemen, than we had again chitchat and I was offered by [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] cold apple juice to refresh my self because half of my part was still in that beautifully Sweihan Desert and simply didn't wanned to get out :)...

I thank you all for giving us this oportunity especialy [mention]Solmaz[/mention] for leading our convoy [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] for assuring our safety & [mention]JockJKU[/mention] for making sure everyone follows the right track so we dont split and loose our selfs...

As always I made another video, when compiling all pieces together i try to make as shortest as possible so people don't get bored out of it although i never do :)...



Thanks once again,
Almost4x4 - Tekton
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DustnGlory
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Hi All,
This was a really amazing drive and I must say it was pretty much a full house… we had founders, marshals, advance, inters and newbies on one beautiful, foggy drive day surrounded by awesome dunes! cool This was my first time driving in Sweihan. I’ve been a passenger on 2 intermediate drives with [mention]presa[/mention] and [mention]Agalon[/mention] in this area and knew what to expect. By the time I’d reached the camp, almost everyone was there and the usual greetings and chit chat ensued. Once the inters and advance were briefed and lined up, [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] began with attendance for the newbies.

I was part of the 10+ convoy and we had [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] as our lead and [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] as our sweep. Rashid bhai gave us a short brief on how he expects the convoy to move and Abu Jimmy had one important thing to say – ‘Don’t let these dunes intimidate you! They are just like any other. Just make sure you drive with the right technique and you will be fine!’. Excited to begin we rushed to our rigs and pretty soon we were off. The first 5 minutes of the drive felt like a roller coaster and I could hear my heart pounding. We came to a drop followed by a climb with an arch where [mention]Kris_K[/mention] had the opportunity to test the patrol’s new shoes. What led to a pop out got everyone gathered together in the bowl to pitch in and help. I was looking around and wondering aloud with [mention]optimus[/mention] how high these dunes are when [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] caught my thought and replied with a smile ‘Don’t let these dunes intimidate you! They are just like any other dune.’ pacman Hearing that again and knowing he was right behind us watching gave a lot of boost. Pretty soon we were off again. The drive was really interesting and we got opportunities to do some side crests, high climbs, a really high drop (4L+2nd gear – which was another first), some good arches and high walls (another first again). We had a brief stop in between to relax and enjoy the scenery after which we continued. This time we came across a bowl where everyone had the chance to go in one by one, drive on the wall around and stop at the center of the bowl. This is stuff I’ve seen in videos and I was still comprehending the fact that I was part of it!!!… redbullsmiley

After this it was time to head on to Nagrah dune and on the way the terrain kept changing. Initially we passed through the huge dunes and then we came across a technical area with small dunes that pretty much ran parallel creating grooves in the terrain. This I believe was the starting point for one of the passenger drives I’d taken part in – think it was Drive Fast 4.0 Sweihan. Once we crossed this portion we had a decent drop followed by a long climb on extremely soft sand and from there we kept going up. thumbsup At one point there was a climb which we had to crest at an angle and no matter how I tried I kept losing power when I was almost there. After a few attempts Abu Jimmy asked me to check my tire pressure and sure enough all 4 tires were at 12psi. By the time I deflated, Rashid bhai came back for us and plotted another line to reach the crest and he waited there as a waypoint for me to reach. Surprisingly with those 2 psi down I was able to find traction and reached the crest without any issues, the view from that point was really something. on fire After some more ups and downs and a dash of safari style thrown in for good measure, we reached the end point marked by a few trees and inhabited by our inters [mention]Scorpio[/mention], [mention]SINGH[/mention], [mention]Shah[/mention] and [mention]Raja[/mention] . Since the rest of the inters had already left, we waited for the 10- convoy led by [mention]Solmaz[/mention] and [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] to reach after which we saddled up and made our exit to the inflation point.

This drive was really one of the best I’ve had so far – a real adventure. I also think I’m starting to recognize parts of the desert track. I’m pretty sure one of the walls we drove was part of the Paradise City IV drive where I was [mention]presa[/mention]’s passenger but I’m not a 100%. The place looked familiar though… Thanks [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] for organizing this drive. Your calm and encouraging responses on the radio are a huge confidence builder. Thanks [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for the awesome track and giving us the opportunity to play on some of them. Thanks founders for creating this awesome club and all marshals, advance, inters and crew for maintaining and enhancing the experience with each passing drive. See you in the sand soon… Over and out.
Jithin AKA Dust'nGlory

Drives an FJ = Silver Surfer =
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Alexandar
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It is customary when you are around a camp fire 🔥you share ghost stories👻,But what do off-roaders share when they are around a camp fire?? Roll over stories. That’s what we were treated to.

I have always wondered why the club insisted on us having spare spark plugs and a spark plug wrench as part of our tool kit. So one reason it seems is to remove your spark plug and clean the heads in the event you have a roll over. I hope it never happens to any of us dear readers. 🤞🤞🤞🤞

So we started our journey at 5:30am to travel around 180 kms to the meeting point, located at Swaihan in Al Ain. The early morning drive was a challenge as it was cold around 11 degrees and the visibility was approx 100 to 150 meters due to the dense fog which caused all our windows to get fogged up as well adding to the limited visibility.

As a newbie in the 10- drive convoy we had to watch the intermediates and the 10+ drivers take off and we had to wait our turn. We were led by @solmaz who plotted a nice exciting and safe trail through the dunes. Also had @jockjku who floated around and gave us advice on what to do when we were stuck.

30 mins into the drive we were told to check our tires and deflate more if needed as our tires had heated up and really that 2 PSI reduction did make a difference.

In our convoy we had no one who was stuck and needed to be towed but we did have a number of second tries. Testament to the marshals for picking a good route and giving us good tips to learn from.

We drove through some beautiful dunes and reached up to old lady hill which was named after an old lady who used to live in a farm next to the hill and would call the cops everytime off roaders frequented the area due to the noise created. We drove around old lady and drove past Naghar Hill as the rest of the group was waiting for us. So these two hills were left unconquered by the newbie 10- convoy. We shall come to them another day as we get more experienced.

Overall an enjoyable and safe trip which definitely did boost our confidence level. Thank you to all the marshals for your support.

Regards,
Teena and Alex

p.s. epic conversation over heard during the trip

marshal: when we tell you to press the accelerator. Press it. Let your rev counter go over 3000.

newbie: but I am scared.

Marshal: don’t be, be kind to your tires not your engine.

Newbie: but she is screaming

Marshal: that means she is enjoying it!!

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presa
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alex9683 wrote: Mon Feb 04, 2019 8:54 pm
Newbie: but she is screaming

Marshal: that means she is enjoying it!!
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There are some nice histories about this in the club... ask the Marshals on next camp!
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