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Straight Cresters

Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2019 7:10 pm
by Phoenix
Dear Members,

Please post your trip reports here.

Thank you

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2019 12:36 pm
by Loca
Dear Almosters,

straight cresting is not the technique that I prefer but I must admit that ... 1. it's very important to learn how to do a straight crest in full safety, 2. apart from the learning's experience yesterday drive was nice and funny thanks to the skills of our leaders: @presa and @Scorpio thumbsup

I was in the 5 less convoy led by @presa and was appointed 2nd leader as so some reason someone was bullying the Pajeros and I raised my hand to defend the category yuush
Our convoy was swept by @Gabor and supported by @Solmaz, @baris and @Rashidjass

The drive took some time to take off as we had to wait for a late comer faill anyway our leaders never lose their patience and as usual nobody was left behind.
Dear Almosters pls don't take delays as an habit: the schedule is posted in advance and all of us do wake up early to stick with the schedule and show our respect to everybody else thumbsup

After many straight cresting with increasing slope and angles all the drivers got confidence with the correct approach speed and improved radio communication. In the 2nd half of the drive @presa increased the level of the drive and added a few side cresting on simple dunes which increased exponentially the size of the smiles in the face of our newbies

All the newbies did a good job and we only had a few crested cars which is part of the program when straight cresting goes on

Thanks @Scorpio for having arranged this drive. I hope to see you all soon
ciao

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 9:25 am
by Taco
Hello Almosters!

I've to be honest, I was not very enthusiastic when I saw the drive name "Straight Cresters" thinking it will be a slow-paced and maybe even a bit boring day. I've to admit now, I was wrong! I was told this earlier but experiencing it firsthand is different, things really start to become interesting in the 5+ category. I'm now even more curious how 10+ is going to be, time will show :)

I had a friend as a passenger this time and we arrived a few minutes before the posted meeting time. There were already quite a few cars around (as usual). By the time I deflated and got everything ready the meeting point was crawling with cars & people, a very nice crowd as usual.

For this trip we had 2 convoys, Newbies 5- and 5+. Typical briefing was delivered and we were split into our respective convoys quickly. I was in the 5+ convoy led by @Scorpio, 2nd lead @optimus, with @Johanna & @awais_300 positioned within the convoy for rescue/support, as well as @Saeed FJ and @haider alnuaimi floating around. Last but not least, @Booy & @Rashidjass were also with us doing their own thing.

We had a soft and easy start, a nice but short warm-up period. Things escalated fairly quickly and we had our first stuck a few minutes into the drive. This was just a small preview of what we would face throughout the day. I have not experienced such a high number of stuck and 2nd try scenarios before in any drive I attended (which is not many though hehe). Really though, there were a lot of 2nd tries and recoveries! This was, by all means, good because it showed that we were being pushed to improve ourselves while staying within safe lines and I strongly believe we all benefited from these.

1st half of the drive was all about straight cresting but the 2nd half things got a bit wild. Now I'm not sure whether the speeds we reached were part of the plan or caused because of the long gaps that happened within the convoy and we were speeding (not on flat hard ground as in some other drives) to close those gaps but still nothing that made (at least) me feel we were stretching the borders of safety for our category, it was just exhilarating. We still did have many straight crests on the 2nd half but different obstacles/styles were thrown into the mix and it was a lot of fun!

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining but I was not happy with something in this drive, which is the convoy order. Now, I'm not sure whether what happened was normal or not (as I had not seen it happen before) but it was odd that the convoy order changed "multiple" times between stops. From what we were told before (since the CM drive) everyone stays in their position throughout the drive, which was not the case on this occasion. Nothing major but I found it a bit "weird".

There were 3 pajeros in our convoy, which is something that doesn't happen often! We missed @Loca, our intermediate driver with a Pajero, as he was assigned to the other convoy but let's hope one day we will end up with more Pajeros within the same convoy hehe

I'm still trying to (mentally) recover from the effects of the recent repairs I did on my car so was thinking I'll have a lot of 2nd tries if not stucks today but it didn't turn out as bad as I expected hehe! I managed to finish the day with one 2nd try but I did get 2 minor hits at a wonderful straight angle to my front skidplate while starting the climb on 2 steep dunes which I'm not happy about but lessons learned, at the end of the day it is all about improving gradually. I do not think I had any jumps that day either (except a small one while on flat ground, don't ask how) if anyone has seen otherwise I'd be happy to hear about it though so I know where I messed up.

I saw the importance of driving regularly that day, not leaving big gaps between the drives. Due to my work I was missing out on a lot of drives and ending up with having 1.5-2 months between each drive which really works against us when we are still trying to learn and at the very early stages of our journey. Every month without a single drive does roll-back a lot of experience and confidence I think and hopefully I will not have to leave such big gaps again in between drives.

We had an unfortunate incident just before the end of the drive. A fellow Pajero driver had a disagreement with a ditch and side-wall while climbing and took a bit of a nasty hit sadly, resulting in a half-broken front bumper and a few things shifted around. This all happened (from what I could see as I was 2-3 cars behind him) as he did not follow the track exactly and was maybe just 1-2m to the right of the original track. In all fairness, while he was climbing there were already 4 sets of tracks immediately next to each other where the incident happened. This showed everyone once again (and repeatedly on many other past occasions) following the original track is EXTREMELY important as the lead cars set the course ensuring we will be safe following him/her, there is a reason he/she has chosen that path.

Almost4x4 family immediately rushed to the rescue. The driver and car was immediately checked by senior members to ensure they were safe. It's not just the status of the car in such moments that matter as the driver could very well be in a small shock! It took a while inspecting whether everything was OK and some makeshift repairs were made on the spot to prevent more things falling apart. And at the same time by weird luck, an Fj Cruiser had a problem, over-heating! This is one to be discussed at length around the campfire I'm sure after so many people mocking Jeeps for overheating problems hehe

I'm not sure whether the lead and/or 2nd lead noticed that very problematic path immediately next to our track but I think they could have warned over the radio about the very bad path to the right and remind people to be extra cautious here. I hope nobody gets me wrong for this remark though, it's all with good intentions :)

Thanking @Scorpio once again for organizing this fabulous day and all other Marshals, Advanced & Intermediate drives for being there to support and look after us. It was a great day out as always, thank you Almost4x4!

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ps Photo credit for the 3 muskeeters go to @aminemac :)

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 10:28 am
by presa
Hi Almosters, we had a very nice drive this friday morning.

I was assigned leader for the 5- convoy. We had a slow start and increase the pace as the drivers got warm.

We did a lot of front crest, as the drive mentioned. The front crest is the most basic and safer way of crossing a dune, but also can be risk if you overspeed. Our drivers did very well what allowed me to increase the pace at the second part of the drive and even put some climbings on the track.

There were a rally happening close to us, what was the perfect excuse to avoid the easy track, used by the rally, and drive on the top of the dunes, what people might have enjoyed, from the smiles I got...

Two important remarks for our 5-, that mostly are about to become 5+:
- pay attention to your tire pressure, and start playing with it... 2-3 psi less will be very valuable on the soft sand & climbs and your car will float better, what means less need for raw power;
- for the big SUV's and trucks: careful with overspeeding when entering the sharp climbs to avoid damage at your bumper.

Thanks for the supporting intermediate and Marshals.

Next weekend we have EIG. Even if you are not allowed to join, enroll as observer, since is a very nice event!

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 10:40 am
by optimus
Hi All,

@Scorpio took the attendance and divided the members into 2 convoys.
One was lead by himself and the other was lead by @presa
I as appointed as the 2nd lead behind Scorpio with Johanna and Awais supporting in the middle, Bu Zayed Sweeping.

Scorpio gave a nice warmup for the first 10 minutes thereafter started the fun part.
He started to hit the crests head on. The lead & the 2nd lead tried to break the crests but still the drivers behind struggled to cross resulted in cars getting crested at every other crest.

I am sure the cars driving in front of the convoy learned a lot about their cars, power, speed, momentum, one should have to safely do the straight crest.
Hope everyone of us remember what our marshal’s tell us during the CM briefing : If you are too fast on the straight crest, you would fly to the other side resulting in damaging your car or in worst case a roll over.

If you are too slow and you think you won’t make it to the top, don’t try to turn left or right, just stop and reverse and try again or if you hesitate and slow down or apply breaks at the top, the worst case you would get crested.
Its better to get crested rather than flying, damaging your car. We have all been through this, there is no shame. I still remember my early pajero days , -5 drives, within 10 minutes, I got crested 3 times in a single drive. 2 times I called for help then 3rd time I just kept quiet. Hahahah!
I remember Zico & Barish saw me crested & came to the rescue!. Attached some flashback pictures.! 😊

Lastly I would advise my newbie friends, please always follow the track chosen by your leader,
do not deviate otherwise you would jeopardize your safety and the safety of the cars behind you.

Scorpio coursed the convoy through amazing lines.
Ha made sure the drive name "straight cresters"lived up to its name! ha ha!

Thank you Scorpio for organizing & leading!
Thanks to @Booy & @Rashidjass our convoy supporting marshal's.
Thanks to @Saeed FJ & @haider alnuaimi for floating around!

Until next time!

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Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 12:20 pm
by Scorpio
Hello Everyone,

The drive was named with a purpose – to learn and practice the art of straight cresting 8-) .

Thanks to @presa for leading the 5- convoy. I took the 5+ members and we had our part of the fun. The convoys structure have already been explained in earlier reports so, I won’t feel the need to go through it again. What I would like to mention in this trip reports is that YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB thumbsup !

The count of straight crests thrown to my convoy and considering the variety of those crests, I would say that you guys really did it superbly. Probably, it was one of those drives where we had the highest number of crested cars (I counted at least 10 myself innocent ) but the best part was that no one flew from the crest on all those points yuush . It was evident that you got the concept that getting stuck is better than flying – getting stuck means you have the intention to learn it properly and shows that you are trying. I am sure that after this drive the fear of getting stuck on the crests would at least have been reduced if not over yet arr. and you would have learnt how to do it in a text book way. Keep practicing to master it…

The other important point that I would like to mention is about following the lead car track. When you are driving in the convoy, let the lead car to take all the risks for you and do not expose yourself by deviating from the track. When you drive, please focus on the track and the car in front of you; and based on my experience, I have learnt a lot with this technique. Secondly, your momentum should always be under your control on the climbs.

It was an amazing morning with you all; hoping to see you in the sand soon.

Just a note; you are 10- and soon you will be 10+ to be eligible to participate in the next EIB. Attending the EIB as an observer or audience is always a good experience to have before you actually participate as a challenger. So, don’t miss this opportunity!

Many thanks to @Rashidjass and @Booy for supervision and guidance and to advanced and intermediates for their great support thumbsup .

Cheers have a nice day

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 12:36 pm
by Saeed FJ
Hello everyone
a good day to write a trip report
I rach to the meeting point to finding a good number of driver are there, the wither was amazing and the almosters morning chitchat was cool, i'm so glad to know and see a new driver, keep coming and enjoy your time, and so happy to see @giorgio after long time walah miss you bro

As soon as attendance is completed and the drivers were split into 2 convoys first lead by @presa and the second was lead by @Scorpio. I was with Scorpio convoy floating around with @haider alnuaimi.

the aim for such a drive is to practise for straight crest, to know the proper speed for climbing and crossing the crest, no shame to get stuck, always know this it's better to stuck than Overspeed and fly, with more practising it will be easier to idntificate the right speed for crossing.

for my experience as floating it was an amazing feeling and experience. it's new for me to be floating in this scenario I'm creating my own way and I have to keep an eye on the convoy, really very thanks for the club to build confidence in us to reach this level.
and very thanks @Taco for the sweet, it's really amazing

last but not least I would like to thank the organizer, marshals, explorers, all support team from advance and intermediate, and for all the attendance driver to make such drive amazing

thank you all and best of luck
see you on the sand

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:34 pm
by Booy
Hello Almosters,

I was supporting @Scorpio in the 5+ newbie convoy, and he chose a great track.

We learn by repetition right? Therefore we repeated straight crests, one after the other the entire morning. This is a great way to learn correct approach speed to safely crest the dunes. Everyone did well, and I am sure every individual driver finished at the end of the drive, knowing that he/she improved their skills, and at the same time spent time with a great community of family and friends.

Don't forget, marshals see everything - @Taco convoy changes were done for a reason.... Don't be surprised if you are asked to change position during a drive by the marshals - we work with a plan cool

I'm looking forward to seeing you all on the sand again soon.

Till then keep safe...

Regards,

Booy

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:49 pm
by Taco
Booy wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 2:34 pm Don't forget, marshals see everything - @Taco convoy changes were done for a reason.... Don't be surprised if you are asked to change position during a drive by the marshals - we work with a plan cool
I do know of course that Marshals may make such changes when/if they see necessary. When has anyone seen me ever question a Marshal's decision/instructions hope my fake smile works again

I was referring to the changes drivers made on their own as the convoy started off after various stops which were made without any instructions from the Marshals. My bad though if instructions were given by Marshals off the radio through any other channel that I wasn't aware of :oops:

Re: Straight Cresters

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:47 am
by aminemac
Hello everyone !

I was really excited to get back to the sand after almost two months of intensive work and a long holiday.

I enjoyed the drive despite the challenge to adjust in the beginning.
After few stucks and recoveries, I felt that I am handling the Pajero a lot better.

A special thanks to everyone on the convoy for an awesome drive.

I urge everyone to follow the marshals track. If there is a change to be made, the second lead will do it and inform us. This is the second time I witness an incident of this sort. Some drivers are making their own trucks and the rest of us would not know which one to follow anymore.

Can’t wait to see you again soon on the sand!