Trip Report - Sirius Stars CM Drive
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Phoenix
- Crew
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- Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 11:59 pm
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Dear Members,
Welcome to your second family. We love to hear and read about everyone's experience, please feel free to write your trip reports here.
Welcome to your second family. We love to hear and read about everyone's experience, please feel free to write your trip reports here.
Adventurous League of Mountains, Oceans and Sand Thrills
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ImplantDentist
- Club Member
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 5:31 pm
First every trip. The instructions to get to the start place were excellent, and the assistance at the beginning was priceless since I haven’t done this before.
I’ve got a clear equipment list to go and buy. Met some lovely helpful people-! And got some great tips for places to go and buy my off road tool kit
I’ve got a clear equipment list to go and buy. Met some lovely helpful people-! And got some great tips for places to go and buy my off road tool kit
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BigPoppa5300
- Club Member
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:12 pm
An amazing day and introduction for whats to come.
(Sorry i am not good with names, as you can tell by my nvm....)
The day started with entering the reserve and deflating tyres and made my way to the meeting point. Well at one point i was deflating with another group until i realized i dont see any A4x4 flags and ran. Well continued forward and met with couple of marshals who were very helpful in directing me and were ready to assist me in deflating without asking when i mentioned i am total noob. (Thank you marshal black jeep, sorry dont remember names yet)
After reaching the meeting point, i didnt notice any cars and kept continuing until i looked at gps and made a u-turn to go back to deflating point and then accidently noticed the meeting point and greeted by beautiful FJs, patrol and yeah jeeps... Met with Marshal Singh ji, got some insight on what A4x4 is and some really good tips.
After about 30-40 mins, when everyone started arriving, we gathered and were debriefed for whats about to come. And boy did we needed that otherwise i would have lost more than just undercarriage plastic protection stuff. We were quickly debriefed and oh and yeah got some complimentary A4x4 flag and sticker (need more of those :D) then were assigned to convoy and our marshals, and resecue teams. I was assigned to convoy #3.
Everything went well with ups and downs here and there. There were two drawbacks, the driver (me) and the approach angle of the behemoth tahoe. Well i over/under estimated and had higher speed than required at cresting and then thats when i losing undercarriage plastic protection. Then i was reminded of Marshal Singh mentioning that more speed will likely damage the bumper.
Furthermore, i was under the impression that i need to keep the truck in D3 and as soon as i hit the sand, i realized Singh ji was correcto to always be in D2 and D1, and boy did D1 help alot with the torque and ofcourse the V8 sound.
Well as my father tells me you are a disappointment, i was the disappointment of the convoy and held them back a bit with this behemoth . (jk jk :D) Well we had quite a few crests and a ton of fun. Even though my rear seats are filled with plastic bits it just gives me another reason to get a prerunner style bumpers and skid plates.
If it wasnt for the black jeep marshal ( really sorry dont remember the names) and the rescue / sweep team, i would have been lost and stuck.
Well it was a really fun drive and looking more to it. I will soon get the remaining on road. Well today we learned quite a lot and made new friends and looking forward for more to come.
Opinion : I was really looking for a play area and at the end point, i thought thats the place and did a quick spin until i saw people inflating and all the dust i was sending their way (sorry fot that), felt bad and left for inflating :D .
(Sorry i am not good with names, as you can tell by my nvm....)
The day started with entering the reserve and deflating tyres and made my way to the meeting point. Well at one point i was deflating with another group until i realized i dont see any A4x4 flags and ran. Well continued forward and met with couple of marshals who were very helpful in directing me and were ready to assist me in deflating without asking when i mentioned i am total noob. (Thank you marshal black jeep, sorry dont remember names yet)
After reaching the meeting point, i didnt notice any cars and kept continuing until i looked at gps and made a u-turn to go back to deflating point and then accidently noticed the meeting point and greeted by beautiful FJs, patrol and yeah jeeps... Met with Marshal Singh ji, got some insight on what A4x4 is and some really good tips.
After about 30-40 mins, when everyone started arriving, we gathered and were debriefed for whats about to come. And boy did we needed that otherwise i would have lost more than just undercarriage plastic protection stuff. We were quickly debriefed and oh and yeah got some complimentary A4x4 flag and sticker (need more of those :D) then were assigned to convoy and our marshals, and resecue teams. I was assigned to convoy #3.
Everything went well with ups and downs here and there. There were two drawbacks, the driver (me) and the approach angle of the behemoth tahoe. Well i over/under estimated and had higher speed than required at cresting and then thats when i losing undercarriage plastic protection. Then i was reminded of Marshal Singh mentioning that more speed will likely damage the bumper.
Furthermore, i was under the impression that i need to keep the truck in D3 and as soon as i hit the sand, i realized Singh ji was correcto to always be in D2 and D1, and boy did D1 help alot with the torque and ofcourse the V8 sound.
Well as my father tells me you are a disappointment, i was the disappointment of the convoy and held them back a bit with this behemoth . (jk jk :D) Well we had quite a few crests and a ton of fun. Even though my rear seats are filled with plastic bits it just gives me another reason to get a prerunner style bumpers and skid plates.
If it wasnt for the black jeep marshal ( really sorry dont remember the names) and the rescue / sweep team, i would have been lost and stuck.
Well it was a really fun drive and looking more to it. I will soon get the remaining on road. Well today we learned quite a lot and made new friends and looking forward for more to come.
Opinion : I was really looking for a play area and at the end point, i thought thats the place and did a quick spin until i saw people inflating and all the dust i was sending their way (sorry fot that), felt bad and left for inflating :D .
I love it when you call me big poppa in the memory of Biggie Smalls and the behemoth Tahoe
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David
- Intermediate
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 12:15 pm
- Location: Dubai
- Has thanked: 595 times
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Quick trip report for my first CM as support.
Worth getting out of bed just for that moment when the convoys are distributed and the Marshalls are introduced ... "and on that one Rashid, the one with the little yellow jeep", still makes me smile now.
Just couple of messages for those new to the Almost family from someone who is also fairly new:
- fantastic group of people, incredible fun and loads to learn, be patient, trust the Marshalls and I am sure you will not regret it.
- in Newbie drives you will find drivers with very different experience but the Marshalls have to assume that we are all completely new, that's the only way they can guarantee that the convoy will be safe, in a sense a drive needs to be adapted for the "weakest driver" in the convoy and it is the responsibility of everyone in the convoy to do their best to make sure we all go back safely. Stay in your line, don't mess around, don't change the tracks ... don't worry, when the Marshalls believe it is the time there will be plenty of opportunities to get the adrenaline running
See you on the sand soon
Worth getting out of bed just for that moment when the convoys are distributed and the Marshalls are introduced ... "and on that one Rashid, the one with the little yellow jeep", still makes me smile now.
Just couple of messages for those new to the Almost family from someone who is also fairly new:
- fantastic group of people, incredible fun and loads to learn, be patient, trust the Marshalls and I am sure you will not regret it.
- in Newbie drives you will find drivers with very different experience but the Marshalls have to assume that we are all completely new, that's the only way they can guarantee that the convoy will be safe, in a sense a drive needs to be adapted for the "weakest driver" in the convoy and it is the responsibility of everyone in the convoy to do their best to make sure we all go back safely. Stay in your line, don't mess around, don't change the tracks ... don't worry, when the Marshalls believe it is the time there will be plenty of opportunities to get the adrenaline running
See you on the sand soon
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mustafazc
- Newbie
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:06 pm
- Has thanked: 4 times
- Been thanked: 25 times
Hello Everyone,
I am a total newbie to desert driving and this was my first experience ever. Until now I had only gone into the sand maybe 100 meters from a roadside. This was a great learning experience for me.
I arrived late to the entry point and hastily deflated as everyone was already heading to the meeting point. I was the last one to reach the meeting point.. but I luckily reached before the briefing had begun.
Just before the briefing, we were handed stickers and flags of the club and the first rule of the club - "No sticker ? No help!"
The briefing was very informative and was conducted by Marshall @SINGH. He covered the founding and values of the club, convoy style of driving, what gears and how to manage momentum when approaching the crest of a dune.
He also mentioned that we would be driving in the direction of the wind for the trip, so I need to do more research into the relationship between wind direction and driving direction.
I was in the back half of Convoy 1, along with the other long wheel base cars. We drove for few minutes until we hit some dunes and the front of the convoy was stuck. Being at the convoy I didn't know what was happening ahead, but when we moved I got to see. The convoy leads and the support members were all mounted on top of dunes and were guiding each car one by one. We drove in low gear in this area and I took two tries in one of the areas and I was guided on exactly what to do and I crossed over safely on my second attempt.
We drove again for a while and it was smooth sailing through a new set of dunes, I was keeping a distance 20m to the car in front and enjoying the ride, until we reached another area where we were guided through the dunes again, however this time we had a recovery in our convoy and a pop out. It was a great learning experience and it was amazing to see how calm everyone was in such a situation. In this area we had 2 recoveries (I think, I only saw one).
We exited this area as well and drove for a short distance before one of the cars had an issue and tried replacing tires but the car could not complete the drive and was escorted to the road.
The convoy continued on into an area with a lot of high crests and we were using the radios throughout this area. The convoy picked up pace as well in this area but I was unable to keep the 20m gap with the car in front of me and I realized the importance of staying close by to keep an eye on how the car in front drives. I was driving following the old path for a bit, but there was some solace since two of the sweepers for our convoy were in front of me and behind me (the Jeep TJ and the black Xterra). Once I was back with the convoy it was great to follow the cars and see some amazing views of the dunes all around.
Overall, it was a great first experience for me and now I work towards my first star. BTW, I am open to any recommendations regarding which air compressor to get.
Thanks to the Founders, Marshalls and all the people who wake up early on a Friday to help newbies learn to drive in the desert.
Also thanks whoever is reading this super long essay about the trip.
I am a total newbie to desert driving and this was my first experience ever. Until now I had only gone into the sand maybe 100 meters from a roadside. This was a great learning experience for me.
I arrived late to the entry point and hastily deflated as everyone was already heading to the meeting point. I was the last one to reach the meeting point.. but I luckily reached before the briefing had begun.
Just before the briefing, we were handed stickers and flags of the club and the first rule of the club - "No sticker ? No help!"
The briefing was very informative and was conducted by Marshall @SINGH. He covered the founding and values of the club, convoy style of driving, what gears and how to manage momentum when approaching the crest of a dune.
He also mentioned that we would be driving in the direction of the wind for the trip, so I need to do more research into the relationship between wind direction and driving direction.
I was in the back half of Convoy 1, along with the other long wheel base cars. We drove for few minutes until we hit some dunes and the front of the convoy was stuck. Being at the convoy I didn't know what was happening ahead, but when we moved I got to see. The convoy leads and the support members were all mounted on top of dunes and were guiding each car one by one. We drove in low gear in this area and I took two tries in one of the areas and I was guided on exactly what to do and I crossed over safely on my second attempt.
We drove again for a while and it was smooth sailing through a new set of dunes, I was keeping a distance 20m to the car in front and enjoying the ride, until we reached another area where we were guided through the dunes again, however this time we had a recovery in our convoy and a pop out. It was a great learning experience and it was amazing to see how calm everyone was in such a situation. In this area we had 2 recoveries (I think, I only saw one).
We exited this area as well and drove for a short distance before one of the cars had an issue and tried replacing tires but the car could not complete the drive and was escorted to the road.
The convoy continued on into an area with a lot of high crests and we were using the radios throughout this area. The convoy picked up pace as well in this area but I was unable to keep the 20m gap with the car in front of me and I realized the importance of staying close by to keep an eye on how the car in front drives. I was driving following the old path for a bit, but there was some solace since two of the sweepers for our convoy were in front of me and behind me (the Jeep TJ and the black Xterra). Once I was back with the convoy it was great to follow the cars and see some amazing views of the dunes all around.
Overall, it was a great first experience for me and now I work towards my first star. BTW, I am open to any recommendations regarding which air compressor to get.
Thanks to the Founders, Marshalls and all the people who wake up early on a Friday to help newbies learn to drive in the desert.
Also thanks whoever is reading this super long essay about the trip.
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alshamsi_m
- Founder
- Posts: 840
- Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:29 am
- Location: Al Hamriyah
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Dear family member Old/New
They say a bad day in the desert is better than a good day at the office
Now imagine a great day in the sand, how much is it equal to??? 
All the marshals were dressed up with the 2021 new color and at the same time celebrating the joining of the new marshal @SINGH who did an amazing job in organizing, planning and executing the plan.... Well done
After the briefing the marshals took over the convoys and we got split to three convoys. I'm sure that each one of you has his own version of the story.
I had @NahorJP as my passenger and we ate lots of bananas together,
@Scorpio gave us a relaxed track ar the beginning then suddenly he started to do the straight crests which made the newbie stand on their toes 
I had to take a Landcruiser out to fix the 4L issue but once it got fixed we were back trying to catch the conovy but unfortunately, our leading marshal was gone and delivered his convoy safly to the final destination
I didn't have the chance to recognize the faces yet but I could guess that some of you are going to be awesome friends
Till next time stay safe and keep the sand flying
Cheers
Shamsi
They say a bad day in the desert is better than a good day at the office
Now imagine a great day in the sand, how much is it equal to??? All the marshals were dressed up with the 2021 new color and at the same time celebrating the joining of the new marshal @SINGH who did an amazing job in organizing, planning and executing the plan.... Well done
After the briefing the marshals took over the convoys and we got split to three convoys. I'm sure that each one of you has his own version of the story.
I had @NahorJP as my passenger and we ate lots of bananas together,
@Scorpio gave us a relaxed track ar the beginning then suddenly he started to do the straight crests which made the newbie stand on their toes I had to take a Landcruiser out to fix the 4L issue but once it got fixed we were back trying to catch the conovy but unfortunately, our leading marshal was gone and delivered his convoy safly to the final destination
I didn't have the chance to recognize the faces yet but I could guess that some of you are going to be awesome friends
Till next time stay safe and keep the sand flying
Cheers
Shamsi
Adventurous League of Mountains, Oceans and Sand Thrills
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presa
- Marshal
- Posts: 372
- Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:52 pm
- Has thanked: 569 times
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Hi Almosters!
Very good to see so many new faces at the desert!
@SINGH did an spectacular briefing, explaining about Almost 4x4 Club, safety in desert driving, driving techniques, among other things.
I was floating at the convoy with @Scorpio leading. We had a pleasurable track with just a few 2nd tries due to soft sand and crested cars.
Hope all Club Members had their tools checked to join this weekend drive as Newbies.
Here is the link for the tools:
https://almost4x4.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3901
Very good to see so many new faces at the desert!
@SINGH did an spectacular briefing, explaining about Almost 4x4 Club, safety in desert driving, driving techniques, among other things.
I was floating at the convoy with @Scorpio leading. We had a pleasurable track with just a few 2nd tries due to soft sand and crested cars.
Hope all Club Members had their tools checked to join this weekend drive as Newbies.
Here is the link for the tools:
https://almost4x4.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3901
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brett
- Crew
- Posts: 205
- Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2019 10:08 am
- Location: Dubai
- Has thanked: 1319 times
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Hi Almosters and welcome to the CM participants who once they have their tools certified can look forward to being newbies.
As a newbie myself I was not eligible to join the drive. As chance would have it I found out @Rashidjass didn’t have a vehicle to drive. So I offered up the Little Yellow Jeep for him. I was as surprised as anyone that he agreed to drive a Jeep.
Singh did a great briefing with the group split into Three convoys. Copiloting with Rashid floating with the 3rd convoy lead by Singh off we went. Before long the technical stuff started taking a toll on the new drivers. A lot of 2nd attempts a lot of guidance required from the intermediates and marshals. I think we pulled at least 3 or 4 vehicles but that’s what it’s all about learning from mistakes and the marshals ensuring it is as safe as possible learning experience. We had one particularly challenging stuck with the vehicle also experiencing a pop out. That one took a lot of team work to get recovered and moving again.
Then the unfortunate tire issue and with that Rashid (and I) escorted the vehicle back to the starting point. Meeting @Booy and @A alshamsi (with copilot @NahorJP assisting the land cruiser.
Then it was off at a reasonable pace to try and catch up with our convoy.
Riding passenger in the little yellow Jeep with @Rashidjass behind the wheel was a fantastic learning experience- he made it look easy, relaxed, calm, confident and a comfortable ride. He did not do anything extreme but certainly more than I have yet to try.
Looking forward to being behind the wheel again on the next newbie drive
Regards
Brett
Little yellow Jeep
As a newbie myself I was not eligible to join the drive. As chance would have it I found out @Rashidjass didn’t have a vehicle to drive. So I offered up the Little Yellow Jeep for him. I was as surprised as anyone that he agreed to drive a Jeep.
Singh did a great briefing with the group split into Three convoys. Copiloting with Rashid floating with the 3rd convoy lead by Singh off we went. Before long the technical stuff started taking a toll on the new drivers. A lot of 2nd attempts a lot of guidance required from the intermediates and marshals. I think we pulled at least 3 or 4 vehicles but that’s what it’s all about learning from mistakes and the marshals ensuring it is as safe as possible learning experience. We had one particularly challenging stuck with the vehicle also experiencing a pop out. That one took a lot of team work to get recovered and moving again.
Then the unfortunate tire issue and with that Rashid (and I) escorted the vehicle back to the starting point. Meeting @Booy and @A alshamsi (with copilot @NahorJP assisting the land cruiser.
Then it was off at a reasonable pace to try and catch up with our convoy.
Riding passenger in the little yellow Jeep with @Rashidjass behind the wheel was a fantastic learning experience- he made it look easy, relaxed, calm, confident and a comfortable ride. He did not do anything extreme but certainly more than I have yet to try.
Looking forward to being behind the wheel again on the next newbie drive
Regards
Brett
Little yellow Jeep
Until the next Adventure
Brett
Red Baron
Brett
Red Baron
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NahorJP
- Intermediate
- Posts: 54
- Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2020 1:46 pm
- Location: Dubai
- Has thanked: 32 times
- Been thanked: 36 times
Sirius Stars CM Drive trip report (Organizer : Marshal @SINGH )
First of all thanks to @alshamsi_m for offering me an copilot seat in his car and to cherish my memories of my CM drive! My first CM drive memories with Almost4X4 family are still fresh and will be remembered throughout my offroading journey.
lets begin with the trip report, it all started by hitting off my alarm and rushing to the meeting point (Qudra Last Exit) where my guardian angle @alshamsi_m advised me to meet. And just before reaching the Qudra Last Exit i could see an amazing sunrise spectated by the gas balloons far @ the east side. Soon we departed to the meeting point to meet other members of the club and some fresh faces (Welcome all newbies to their second family).
Check 1: Deflate the tyres to suit offroading
Check 2: flag pole - fix it tight and make sure it will not fall during your drive
Check 3: smile on your face :) always put it ON!!
Good briefing by Marshal @SINGH & @Booy and soon after that the convoy was split into three (yes you are right! it sounds huge with xx nos of cars). we were in convoy no 2 lead by @Scorpio and i was enjoying my ride with @alshamsi_m , who is known to be very gentle with fresh newbies. The drive (my experience as a copilot) was extremely smooth compared to all other drives i did so far with this family ( :) don't want to be sarcastic).
Couple of second tries and following wrong tracks but floating marshals & supporting team did their job very well to connect the disconnected link back to the moving chain. First technical break and learning from your own mistakes briefed by @alshamsi_m.
After reaching half way in, one of the land cruiser (driver @sumaiya) encountered gear transmission issue and we decided to escort the land cruiser out from the sand. but while escorting the land cruiser out @alshamsi_m gave another try to fix the gear transmission issue and guess what?? it worked!!. And the land cruiser (driver @sumaiya ) decided to join the convoy again instead of leaving the drive incomplete (That's the spirit @sumaiya keep it up!) and she did it right by joining the drive again where we found her more confident then before. We met @Booy @rashid @brett at the same point while they were returning back after dropping one newbie car out of the sand. We drove all the way back in convoy style, tried to catch the other convoys, but it seems other convoys already completed their drive successfully and left the sand.
Overall it was great to be part of this drive and proud to be an Almoster!!
Thanks to @Booy @presa @alshamsi_m @Scorpio @SINGH and all other respected marshals and Intermediates & Advance member for giving us a wonderful experience!!
First of all thanks to @alshamsi_m for offering me an copilot seat in his car and to cherish my memories of my CM drive! My first CM drive memories with Almost4X4 family are still fresh and will be remembered throughout my offroading journey.
lets begin with the trip report, it all started by hitting off my alarm and rushing to the meeting point (Qudra Last Exit) where my guardian angle @alshamsi_m advised me to meet. And just before reaching the Qudra Last Exit i could see an amazing sunrise spectated by the gas balloons far @ the east side. Soon we departed to the meeting point to meet other members of the club and some fresh faces (Welcome all newbies to their second family).
Check 1: Deflate the tyres to suit offroading
Check 2: flag pole - fix it tight and make sure it will not fall during your drive
Check 3: smile on your face :) always put it ON!!
Good briefing by Marshal @SINGH & @Booy and soon after that the convoy was split into three (yes you are right! it sounds huge with xx nos of cars). we were in convoy no 2 lead by @Scorpio and i was enjoying my ride with @alshamsi_m , who is known to be very gentle with fresh newbies. The drive (my experience as a copilot) was extremely smooth compared to all other drives i did so far with this family ( :) don't want to be sarcastic).
Couple of second tries and following wrong tracks but floating marshals & supporting team did their job very well to connect the disconnected link back to the moving chain. First technical break and learning from your own mistakes briefed by @alshamsi_m.
After reaching half way in, one of the land cruiser (driver @sumaiya) encountered gear transmission issue and we decided to escort the land cruiser out from the sand. but while escorting the land cruiser out @alshamsi_m gave another try to fix the gear transmission issue and guess what?? it worked!!. And the land cruiser (driver @sumaiya ) decided to join the convoy again instead of leaving the drive incomplete (That's the spirit @sumaiya keep it up!) and she did it right by joining the drive again where we found her more confident then before. We met @Booy @rashid @brett at the same point while they were returning back after dropping one newbie car out of the sand. We drove all the way back in convoy style, tried to catch the other convoys, but it seems other convoys already completed their drive successfully and left the sand.
Overall it was great to be part of this drive and proud to be an Almoster!!
Thanks to @Booy @presa @alshamsi_m @Scorpio @SINGH and all other respected marshals and Intermediates & Advance member for giving us a wonderful experience!!
Thanks
Roan (Night Fury)
See you on Sands!! Sooner the Better!!
Roan (Night Fury)
See you on Sands!! Sooner the Better!!
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Barish
- Marshal
- Posts: 212
- Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:54 am
- Has thanked: 18 times
- Been thanked: 50 times
CM drives are an Almost 4x4 traditional series of introduction of desert to new joiners and introduction of new joiners to the desert. The focus is always the introduction of basic concepts and safety rules to the new members rather than the drive itself.
It was a great job from our new Marshall @SINGH and once more well done!
It was great to see that much amount of new joiners excited to learn and practice. All drivers did very well; all happened is part of the game and was a piece of input to your learning and experience.
"Change your gear if you believe that your momentum will improve."
Barish
It was a great job from our new Marshall @SINGH and once more well done!
It was great to see that much amount of new joiners excited to learn and practice. All drivers did very well; all happened is part of the game and was a piece of input to your learning and experience.
"Change your gear if you believe that your momentum will improve."
Barish
