Cool Stars II

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Tomvanhouten
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Hello everyone,

After a lovely morning in Sweihan, in the afternoon it was time for the 10- Newbies to drive in Dubai territory.

I was put in the convoy @Barish was leading with @Mahmoodyasin and @Gabor as support. During the briefing it became clear that the drivers were going to be made ready for their 10+ adventures to come.

The flow thru this area was really good, some stucks happened, which was a nice exercise for myself. Thanks @Barish for this practice.

Looking at how everyone performed, especially the big trucks at the end of the convoy, hats off guys..well done!

Hope all of you are ok and certainly looking out for the next mission to come with all.

Thanks Tom
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brett
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Dear Almosters,

It was another fantastic afternoon in the dunes.

Meeting up with everyone there was a lot of chit chat and few guys need help after deflating too much. tire pressure is the most important pre-drive preparation.

Thanks to @Barish for organizing and planning the drive, thanks also to our Founder @alshamsi_m. The briefing set out the objectives of the drive and the split of the drivers in to 2 convoys. I was placed in the convoy lead by @Barish and given the unenviable task of 2nd lead behind his nibble and quick Jeep. Barish explained that this drive was to prepare the newbies for their pending 10+ status. He would start off at a reasonable pace and then build it up or wind it down depending on the way the convoy handled the terrain.

At this point I would like to thank the advance and intermediate drivers who were tasked with keeping a watchful eye on us and give advice and assistance when needed. @Gabor @Mahmoodyasin @Tomvanhouten
They certainly had their work cut out for them during the drive with lots of 2nd tries and stucks and With the 2 big Raptors at the tail of the convoy.

After the first section Barish stopped the convoy and several drivers were instructed to check and reduce their tire pressure. During the drive, with the heat and friction, the pressure will increase very quickly up to as much 6psi. So off we went again, it was an interesting and challenging drive. Towards the end we experienced something new - the colour of the sand had changed and although it appeared dry on top it was in fact wet underneath - due I expect to recent rain in the area. if nothing else this made it much easier to see and follow the track.

Big thanks to all the drivers in our convoy it was quite a day.

My Takeaways :

- Tire pressure is VERY important for a successful drive experience.
- Gravity demands respect and must be obeyed.
- the correct speed is needed when ascending (so you don't fly) and descending so you don't thump your skid plate at the bottom.

There are some fantastic videos and photos on the forum, thanks to everyone who posted them. I will be using them on Instagram during the week.

until the next time - stay safe and enjoy the week ahead
Until the next Adventure

Brett
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Mahmoodyasin
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Hi All
Reached late due to a minor accident on the way ouch...it hurts

Cool star II was having a mix of -5 and +5 drivers. @Barish had plans to give some upscale training to the +5 drivers so the convoy was split into 2.
led by @alshamsi_m and @Barish respectively.
I was part of @Barish convoy, positioned to help and guide the convoy. Just 5 mins into the drive we had the rescue task for @Gabor and later on @Tomvanhouten took over which kept him quite busy. the initial stretch was in the technical area which tested the skills of the NBs, specially the trucks, which surprisingly performed really well thumbsup .
Second half of the drive was a mix of long arches and a taste of side cresting on small dunes. it was observed that even though the convoy responded quite well but still the term " dont fight gravity " hasn't instilled in the personality.
The last bit of the drive had wet sand under the top layer which made the driving task relatively easy but a point to remember that this wet sand can easily cause pop outs with which the risk of rollover increases.
To sum up: the response from the drivers was very Good and I'm confident that they will get better and better with more challenging drive to come.

thanks to @Barish @alshamsi_m for arranging the drive and the support team @Tomvanhouten @Gabor for helping out.

till next time
Mahmoodyasin
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CARLOSS
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Hello everyone,

It was good to be back on sand after several weeks without suffering this heat and struggling with Dubai’s desert sands thumbsup

As expected, I was feeling very rusty at the beginning, so it was very helpful to join this drive. It was funny, because I needed to think twice how to deflate and even, I got confused when trying to switch on the kill switch and instead I deactivated the rear parking sensors wtfsmilie . Anyway, it went perfectly well after all with only a few mistakes…for sure, all of them spotted by @alshamsi_m playingsmiley who gave the honor to be second lead.

Talking about second lead, be careful with that because you are the most exposed to Marshals or founders’ traps. I will make myself clear: At some point towards half of the drive, I was closely following (20 meters…maybe a bit less) Shamsi approaching a small dune and saw him standing in the top of it for a fraction of second, not going down straight away, so I thought: “This is not good and he is preparing a trap for us” OSMILEY . I was in the middle of the dune stopped so needed to make a second try and did not hear anything in the radio after Shamsi finally went away. Again, “All very suspicious” zomg . Then, it was my turn and climbing very slowly and just pushed the break right after passing the top of the dune and SURPRISE!!! Psmiley There was a nice ditch with a wall on the left side, very steep, perfect spot for pop outs. I managed to turn right at the right moment with low speed and escaped from the trap.

Unfortunately, the car behind me was not aware (yet) of founders’ traps and had a pop out. I was feeling a bit sorry because I did not say anything on the radio neither, so I helped him to get out.

I would like to thank @Barish for organizing the drive and all the support team @Tomvanhouten , @Gabor , @Mahmoodyasin , @Jasper , @Rathica , @Arminjune .

See you soon
Carlos
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orlantsev
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So it has been more than 4 years since I last drove in the sand...the last drive was on April 14th 2017. After joining as a passenger few weeks ago I felt the urge to decide on the vehicle faster and got a Nissan Safari. I basically got the car on Wednesday and literally my only experience with it was the drive to the meeting point. It was great to join the Newbie to refresh 'muscle' memory and reflexes. I was assigned to a sweep position in a under 5 convoy. Aside from much needed practice the task was to better understand the car to see how it behaves and decide on any changes it may require. It was very tempting to play in the back, but I had to restrain myself. The drive had a few pop outs despite constant reminders on the radio especially after the convoy hit the wet sand. I think more common pop outs happen when you cross the dune and see something unexpected on the other side which causes the driver to rapidly turn. We had an example of that during the drive. However, the other two pop outs which I witnessed are slightly unusual. In first case the car had to do the second try and when reversing down the car was not positioned straight which led to the pop out. In the second case the driver fought gravity on a wet slope to the point that the car was doing 90 degree turns. Even before the pop out was called on a radio it was pretty obvious it was there.
Thank you to all those who helped me with inflate / deflate as my tools were absent this time. Now the task is to get the essentials done this week.
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xtreeme99
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First of all, big thanks to @baris for letting me join from the waiting list and for organizing the drive.
The drive was split into 2 convoys, lead by @baris and @alshamsi_m . This was my 3rd drive and I was assigned to @alshamsi_m as 3rd car, which added a bit on anxiety. I was so focused on deflating to equal PSI and turning off the electronics, that I forgot to switch to 4H ORLY . This eventually lead to our convoys (and mine) first stuck. At first, I was curious to try out the crawl system, but in 2H my car digged itself too much inside (Surprisingly, this happened 5 min. in the drive and I reach quite some distance despite being in 2H). After being unsuccessful with self-recovery, it was decided i'll be pulled out in order to save time and continue with the ride. Again, it was my 1st time to use my long-prepared shackles and strap. Big thanks to @Rathica for the recovery and pointers, it was very smooth.
Afterwards, the pace of the drive was quite fast and pushing to higher limits. Technical areas and higher-speed passes were following after another. Several times I found myself needing to catch up with @alshamsi_m and @CARLOSS after taking a crest slowly.
Later on I got stuck a second time on top of the crest due to breaking too much. Again @Rathica assisted me and pulled me out, thanks a lot! thumbsup
As @CARLOSS mentioned, there was a trap prepared by @alshamsi_m and even though I was informed by radio that i'll need to go sharply right after the drop, I still managed to get a pop out (my first one cool ). To my surprise, my wife on the passenger seat heard the pop out and all crew around me advised me to stop ASAP, while I missed the pop zomg
Time to use my recovery tools (again) - everyone was super kind to assist me with the fix that I got mildly lost of track on what was going around you're kidding, right .
Rest of the drive I managed to avoid bigger issues, apart from a second try where I was intimidated by a bump before the slope)
Closer to the end we reached an area where it had rained, so we had wet sand with dry sand on top, making a slippery terrain.

Overall, it was a great & enjoyable drive! I was happy to use my recovery gear for the first time and learn to recover from mishaps.

PS: As I soon learned after exiting the drive, a pop out leaves quite some sand in the tyre, which causes vibration and steering wheel wobbling. For safety, highway speed was limited. It's easily fixed in a tyre shop (went to a nearest one and costed 10dhs)
It might be common knowledge, but better to repeat for future drivers :)

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theDanutz
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Dear Almosters,

Cool stars was a very special drive ..and for me as well! It was for the first time in a drive - where I was assigned the more experienced convoy yaeh am not durnk a bit more experience.. while other times in past where there was a split - I was always falling into the “very” newbies category!

Thank you a lot @Barish for your confidence you shown in me.. and I will not disappoint.. I’m just learning

The drive itself was very fun and I was pushing my Pajero to new limits! Controlled limits.. as I got stuck 5-6 times at least..

Support was marvelous from @Gabor , @Tomvanhouten , @brett as second and @Mahmoodyasin floating around us. I was frequent customer of @Tomvanhouten ( another Yellow FJ have a nice day ) whom I’d given the chance to practice pulling from every possible angle ouch...it hurts thumbsup Thank you a lot! I really appreciate!
  • as such.. my rope was heavily used, even got the advice to keep it in my backseat instead of trunk.. to save time on recovery have a nice day Sorry for making everyone wait .. while on radio I was hearing @Mahmoodyasin and @Tomvanhouten encouragements: belly is in the sand.. stop digging.. support car pull him out…. danutz prepare the rope
    The temperature was hooot.. mid-August Dubai (you can imagine).. and manipulating the rope.. I think about 10 kg.. installing.. putting it back.. would be a very nice exercise for the “gym lovers”.. but not for me brigade.baka-wolf.com I have just not to get stuck.
I experienced some side-cresting exercises.. small dunes.. I enjoy it very much! I want to thank you everyone for the patience and all the tips given during the drive. thumbsup

After first 3-4 times stuck I was told to verify my pressure.. and indeed it was in 14-15 range.. way too much for that area and this temperature – although I deflated to 12. I deflated even more to 10 and felt way much better. thumbsup

Small inconvenience also with my radio… didn’t realize the hand-freed device needs separate charging.. fast resolved.. by disconnecting it. My bad I didn’t think at all about it.

My take aways:
  • keep distance..
  • follow the tracks in front..
  • have regular tire pressure checks.. in this heat it will increas by at least 2 psi
  • and have charged hands-free devices.. so you can communicate.. and stop if this doesn’t work.. playingsmiley
Thank you very much @Barish for this trip and @alshamsi_m for granting me to be part of Almosts 4x4 family!

Looking forward to see after next CM drive the new “very” newbies in the sand…. I’m 8+ (..and confidently growing) :yaeh_am_not_durnk:

Wish you a wonderful week, and can’t wait for the next drive!

Best regards,
Danutz
Last edited by theDanutz on Mon Aug 23, 2021 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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alshamsi_m
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Hello Everyone

It is the third week of August and it was expected to be hot but to find rain in some areas was a real surprise brigade.baka-wolf.com .

As @Barish gave in the briefing I got the convoy in a technical area to fast area to medium size dunes which was the end of our drive so we had three types of driving cool . Also, we had a very good chance to try straight crests in so many occasions .

All in all , we had a very smooth ride with few learning scenarios to our members. Finally, Thanks to all the supporting team, and looking forward to seeing you in the sand.

Cheers
Shamsi
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Jasper
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Hello everyone!

We had a group of -5 and +5 drivers in this afternoon and I was assigned with the fresher newbies to support. Our convoy was lead by our founder @alshamsi_m, second lead @CARLOSS and I was placed at the back of the convoy. The terrain is a mix of technical and small to medium sized dunes on the later part of the drive. Our convoy did very well on the first half of the drive and I’m sure with the convoy performing good our leader will throw surprises soon. Not long and we started hearing second tries and pop outs. You can hear in the radio “watch out for the pop out” and I think with this warning our convoy managed to avoid those tricky spots. We had a mix of second tries and 3 pop outs and I was able to help on fixing those quickly. The last 2 pop outs were due to the fact the drivers were fighting gravity and sure enough you’ll not win. Lucky for them it is just a pop out and nothing serious. The sand was wet and hard and this added to the challenge on fixing those pop outs.

I’d like to remind our newbie drivers to always bring proper recovery tools as per the Club Rules. 2 out of the 3 pop outs I had helped I have to use my own tools. I would request our organizers to do spot checks on the tools of the drivers if they have in their car proper recovery tools before the drive. Keeping them at home will not help you on the recovery situation.

I was assisted by @Rathica, who was placed in the middle of the convoy to help in the rescue, @orlantsev in charge of sweeping (welcome back!) and @Arminjune floating. The planned sitting after the drive was cancelled due to the fact we have to help on the rescue on the other convoy. When we reached the other convoy they are already moving and going out in the desert.

Thanks again to @Barish for organizing and giving our newbie drivers a good exercise to practice what they have learned in the past drives.

See you all again soon!

Jasper
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Good Afternoon Everyone,

It was very good to be back in the desert after a month away from the UAE.

The convoy was split in 2 groups of 5- and 5+ drives, and I was assigned to the 5+ being this my 9th official drive with the club.

Thanks a lot to @Barish for the great track that gave us the opportunity to practice with some new side cresting skills and technical areas. Also thanks to @Mahmoodyasin @Gabor and @Tomvanhouten for the great support.

It was also very good to see another Raptor at work in the sand and if there was a way I could get more in love with this car was to see another one performing in the desert, the answer to the question "how do you do it in the technical areas?" is by using A LOT of petrol that's how :yaeh_am_not_durnk:

Looking forward to see you again in the sand
Jacopo
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