Summer Stars - CM Drive

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Phoenix
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Dear Members,

Please post your trip reports here.

Quick reminder to copy the whole trip report before clicking on the submit button. If you take long to type the trip report, then there is a chance that it might disappear without a trace when you click the submit button. wtfsmilie

So please do a quick copy of the trip report before clicking on the submit button just in case. thumbsup
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After 9 long months I managed to attend a drive. It was lovely to see all you guys, i wanted to hug all of you but, any how.

Feels really nice writing a trip report after such a long time.

After the safety briefing by @presa the convoys were made into three and I was assigned to convoy #2 (lead by Daggerfall) as support and rescue in the middle of the convoy with @Bu Touma and my good friend and an amazing person @Loca (missed you buddy) as sweep.

Just about 5 minutes into the drive we had our first stuck which was recovered soon by the floating marshal Barish. but then the same car got stuck on the same spot while doing a second try.

I always mention this in my reports and i will mention it again :

Don't worry if you get stuck or do multiple tries, it only means that you are playing it safe. Getting stuck and doing something in multiple tries is part of the fun.

As the drive progressed we got more and more momentum in the convoy and everyone did well.

It was a hot day but surprisingly not that hot in the desert with beautiful weather and lovely people, old members and new members alike. I was so excited to see all the new members that I tried to talk to all of them and welcomed them in our club, if I missed any of you guys then I apologize.

It does not matter what level you drive, every time the marshals tell you something or brush on to stuff that you forgot, you always learn something important. Therefore, I hope all the new drivers learned from @Daggerfall and @Barish because I know I do every time they talk about off-roading.

Again a big welcome to all new drivers in our family, get your tool inspection done fast yuush

See you all in the sand.
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Hi Almosters!

It was a great pleasure to see all our old members and so many new comers.

For the new comers: Be welcome to Almost4x4 family!!

We had a nice Club Member Drive this Friday afternoon. Weather was hot as expected at the begining, but our dear Marshals and Rescue Team installed a Tent that help on the briefing.
We had 3 convoys with @Daggerfall , @Booy and myself leading them.
Our founders, explorer and marshals supporting were @Rashidjass , @Barish , @Daggerfall , @Solmaz, @Agalon , @Scorpio, @singh and @alshamsi_m.

We had Intermediates and advances supporting us, many many thanks for all of you!!

We drove at a first area, that was technical. There were stuck and 2nd tries, as expected. @Solmaz, @Agalon and @alshamsi_m were floating and instructing our CMs, with the support from our great Rescue Team.
After it we enjoy Al Qudra Dunes on an easy track until reaching the lakes and finishing at Al Qudra Stores.

Many check their tools and some are upgraded already with their first star, Kudos for you!

Some are still getting their tools.

Personally CM Drives are among the best ones, since the face of happiness at the end from most drivers is amazing reward for the trip organizers!

I suggest the new comers to get your tools ready to join next weekend drive and navigate the forum to get more knowledge about our club and what to expect on the future!
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Hello Everyone

First of all, I would like to say " well done for all who joined from the Club Members " The area we choose this time for the club members drive is more demanding than our standard area.
It was a nice gathering where we saw some members that we have not seen since the pandemic !!! We also saw some members that we know on the CHATBOX but we had the pleasure to see them in person cool

At the briefing, @presa mentioned the important information to overcome the obstacles, I could see that some of the members didn't think that they would see them immediately in the sand confident!

@Solmaz & @Agalon did a great job helping our member with guidance and instructions how to solve their off-roading problems dark mood

Once I reached home, I dropped 4kg of sand in the shower which indicates that we had a great day in the sand grin

Till next time, stay safe and keep the sand flying

Cheers
Shamsi
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Hello Almosters!

I was very lucky to start my adventure with the Club during the CM drive last Friday. It was great fun, despite all the teething challenges 😊 I still cannot remember all the names and cars of the Marshalls, Rescue Team, and other ensuring our safety, so apologies if I miss/mix-up anyone in the write-up below…

I got to the entry point (very precisely marked in the PM) slightly ahead of time, managed to deflate and chat with a few Almosters (we were a vast majority there), then proceeded to the meeting point a little deeper in the flats.

It was a very hot and windy day, so the tarpaulins which were already set up there helped to stave off some of the heat. For this very reason @presa kept his briefing short and sweet, we then quickly got divided into 3 convoys (ours was led by @Booy ) and headed off to face the adventure.

The beginning was somewhat technical, i.e. “challenging” (mind it was my 2nd day try on the sand, ever; with the first one being just next to the road so not sure if that counts), but I managed to clear first 2 of the “bowls” without major problems (second one with a bit of radio/directional support), only to get stuck on an underwhelming (unnoticed?) small drop. @Rashidjass helped me out there (for the first, but not the last time, as you will see 😉).

We then continued to a bit more flattish areas, and the pace increased. Finally, we started to challenge the dunes, climbing across a few crests. First two went quite nicely, but the 3rd (and I would continue to express the view, tallest and most steep) has proven to be my nemesis, with 3 tries not enough to beat it (@Rashidjass helping me out again, one time after another; with @Booy and the rest of the convoy, witnessing it patiently 😉 - thank you and sorry – promise it will get better!).

Luckily, from there on it all went smooth, and I have gotten a few more crests under my belt without any issues. Last few km were really fast, with a bit of fun drifting in the softer areas.

In total, we were driving for some 2h, and covered 20km.

At the final stop in the Last Exit parking space I got my equipment checked by @Booy, and, as it all turned out to be OK, got my first star!

I personally had A LOT of fun (also judging by the amount of sand on me and inside my car), even though getting slightly stressed (or maybe self-frustrated , rather) at a few moments. Definitely to be continued – I already managed to secure a spot in the New Beginnings drive!

@presa , @Booy , Marshalls and Rescue Teams, thank you for your time organizing and securing this drive, it was fantastic!


Piotr
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piotr wrote: Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:02 pm Hello Almosters!

I was very lucky to start my adventure with the Club during the CM drive last Friday. It was great fun, despite all the teething challenges 😊 I still cannot remember all the names and cars of the Marshalls, Rescue Team, and other ensuring our safety, so apologies if I miss/mix-up anyone in the write-up below…

I got to the entry point (very precisely marked in the PM) slightly ahead of time, managed to deflate and chat with a few Almosters (we were a vast majority there), then proceeded to the meeting point a little deeper in the flats.

It was a very hot and windy day, so the tarpaulins which were already set up there helped to stave off some of the heat. For this very reason @presa kept his briefing short and sweet, we then quickly got divided into 3 convoys (ours was led by @Booy ) and headed off to face the adventure.

The beginning was somewhat technical, i.e. “challenging” (mind it was my 2nd day try on the sand, ever; with the first one being just next to the road so not sure if that counts), but I managed to clear first 2 of the “bowls” without major problems (second one with a bit of radio/directional support), only to get stuck on an underwhelming (unnoticed?) small drop. @Rashidjass helped me out there (for the first, but not the last time, as you will see 😉).

We then continued to a bit more flattish areas, and the pace increased. Finally, we started to challenge the dunes, climbing across a few crests. First two went quite nicely, but the 3rd (and I would continue to express the view, tallest and most steep) has proven to be my nemesis, with 3 tries not enough to beat it (@Rashidjass helping me out again, one time after another; with @Booy and the rest of the convoy, witnessing it patiently 😉 - thank you and sorry – promise it will get better!).

Luckily, from there on it all went smooth, and I have gotten a few more crests under my belt without any issues. Last few km were really fast, with a bit of fun drifting in the softer areas.

In total, we were driving for some 2h, and covered 20km.

At the final stop in the Last Exit parking space I got my equipment checked by @Booy, and, as it all turned out to be OK, got my first star!

I personally had A LOT of fun (also judging by the amount of sand on me and inside my car), even though getting slightly stressed (or maybe self-frustrated , rather) at a few moments. Definitely to be continued – I already managed to secure a spot in the New Beginnings drive!

@presa , @Booy , Marshalls and Rescue Teams, thank you for your time organizing and securing this drive, it was fantastic!


Piotr

hEY @piotr,

Nice report, dont worry about getting stuck. instead it is good that you are getting stuck on climbs rather than powering and flying through them.

Getting stuck and learning to gradually increase and control the power delivery is the essence and one of the basic foundations of safe driving on the sand. Flying and just simple trying to power through will only end in your car damaged in just one or two crests.
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piotr wrote: Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:02 pm Hello Almosters!

I was very lucky to start my adventure with the Club during the CM drive last Friday. It was great fun, despite all the teething challenges 😊 I still cannot remember all the names and cars of the Marshalls, Rescue Team, and other ensuring our safety, so apologies if I miss/mix-up anyone in the write-up below…

I got to the entry point (very precisely marked in the PM) slightly ahead of time, managed to deflate and chat with a few Almosters (we were a vast majority there), then proceeded to the meeting point a little deeper in the flats.

It was a very hot and windy day, so the tarpaulins which were already set up there helped to stave off some of the heat. For this very reason @presa kept his briefing short and sweet, we then quickly got divided into 3 convoys (ours was led by @Booy ) and headed off to face the adventure.

The beginning was somewhat technical, i.e. “challenging” (mind it was my 2nd day try on the sand, ever; with the first one being just next to the road so not sure if that counts), but I managed to clear first 2 of the “bowls” without major problems (second one with a bit of radio/directional support), only to get stuck on an underwhelming (unnoticed?) small drop. @Rashidjass helped me out there (for the first, but not the last time, as you will see 😉).

We then continued to a bit more flattish areas, and the pace increased. Finally, we started to challenge the dunes, climbing across a few crests. First two went quite nicely, but the 3rd (and I would continue to express the view, tallest and most steep) has proven to be my nemesis, with 3 tries not enough to beat it (@Rashidjass helping me out again, one time after another; with @Booy and the rest of the convoy, witnessing it patiently 😉 - thank you and sorry – promise it will get better!).

Luckily, from there on it all went smooth, and I have gotten a few more crests under my belt without any issues. Last few km were really fast, with a bit of fun drifting in the softer areas.

In total, we were driving for some 2h, and covered 20km.

At the final stop in the Last Exit parking space I got my equipment checked by @Booy, and, as it all turned out to be OK, got my first star!

I personally had A LOT of fun (also judging by the amount of sand on me and inside my car), even though getting slightly stressed (or maybe self-frustrated , rather) at a few moments. Definitely to be continued – I already managed to secure a spot in the New Beginnings drive!

@presa , @Booy , Marshalls and Rescue Teams, thank you for your time organizing and securing this drive, it was fantastic!


Piotr
Good to know that you enjoy it!

See you next weekend with @Barish !
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