All Stars Unlimited Edition I - 29/10/2021

David
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Drive after the "Meet & Great" camp the night before, the "usual" MP at Murqquab, All Newbie drive so great attendance that was divided in 3 convoys, 5-, 5+ and 10+, route towards Al Qudra, beautiful terrain that allows for making the drive as easy/hard as wanted or needed.

I was assigned to the 5+ convoy, lead by Shamsi, Agalon as floating support Marshall, Gabor sweeping and Loca and myself inside the convoy.

Drives like this really show you how much control a good Marshall has over the convoy, we started easy, convoy doing well with no issues and the leading Marshall started slowly and progressively increasing the pace and difficulty of the obstacles until we started having some second tries and stucks, once reached that level he stayed on it until the end.

In general terms I though the convoy did pretty well, probably the major point for improvement the distance between cars, if you want to be able to move up and participate in more challenging drives you will have to improve this point, it is needed to be able to maintain a consistent safe distance with the car ahead of you that allows you to see what he/she is doing.

A couple of tricky technical areas with soft sand, little reminder on this point, there is normally a break half way into the drives, this is used for having a snack, chitchat, ... but use it as well to check your tire pressure as it might have changed significantly from the start of the drive and you do not want to face the more difficult part of a track with over inflated tires.

More "enjoyable" rescue of the day came towards the end, Raptor with a pop out, double jack lift was needed, tire with a cut which meant straight route to the exit (we were not far) but not without having to also perform a double pull since the car was stuck in the position where the pop out was resolved.

All in all a fantastic way to spend a Friday morning.

See you on the sand soon!!!
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Tomvanhouten
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Hello everyone,

Lovely drive after some sleep during the camp night. The weather was beautiful with a slight chilly breeze, which actually allowed 'windows open drive' for me...didn't have much other choice also.

I was assigned to 5- convoy together with @Rooies , who was positioned in the middle of the convoy for rescue duties. Driving Big Red once more, didn't allow me to help out on that point, however looking at the convoy's performance not very much was needed also! Really nice flow was created by our lead car @giorgio and the ever 'flowmaster' @Barish floating around everywhere.

Key to this drive, was to learn the variety of techniques in open area's with medium sized dunes as well as moving thru the technical bits and pieces found from Margab to Al Qudra. This area is such a jewel if it comes to that. Having such variety, requires the convoy to adapt the distance everytime, which (after some marshal instructions) went very well.

Thank you all for having me, I had a great time again,

Tom
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CARLOSS
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Hello everyone!

ASUE-I drive was an important event gathering so many drivers and passengers…when reaching the meeting point from the previous night camping spot I realized how much interest participants were showing with their machines ready to go! thumbsup Plenty of families too (including mine) which is always good, and a public recognition to my awesome wife (@Flor ) for taking care of the kids in a different convoy and allowing me to drive alone. blank

I joined +10 Newbie drive with some of the usual suspects and a few new faces from more recent batches (getting older in the club I guess Psmiley ) and was honored to take the sweeping position being @dorudoru the second lead. Convoy was led by @rapailo (getting addicted to Rapailo drive style) and supported by @Abu Jimmy (long time no see and glad to saw him back), @Daggerfall (driving with us Newbies wtfsmilie ), @mpodroid (taking care of the media and assisting) and magnificent @presa and I am forgetting another Interm but don’t know his name…sorry buddy for that.

And I said before magnificent Presa because I saw him working like hell rescuing cars, giving advice, getting his car hit in the rear door when a flying towing point got loosed while pulling another car (hopefully nobody hurt) and always in a good mood and with a smile in his face. Hats off for your dedication and passion! thumbsup

Convoy was quite big, 18 in total, with a nice pace at the beginning till some second tries, stucks and pop-outs starting to show up when in soft and technical area. I think that apart from playing the sweeper role I was also playing the mechanic one as I assisted on most (if notall) of the pop-outs and even changing a flat tire! I am becoming a jack master. brigade.baka-wolf.com

Rapailo did a great job challenging every decent dune available making amazing tracks during 40 km and 3:36h drive (2 hours moving).

And before I forget, thanks a lot @Barish for organizing this memorable event with 3 different levels! And @alshamsi_m for the amazing camping and BBQ challenge!

See you soon in the next challenge
Carlos
Last edited by CARLOSS on Sat Oct 30, 2021 10:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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brett
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Dear Dune People,

After a fantastic Meet & Greet Camp event we arrived at the meeting point (a little behind schedule)
only to find a large number of bright eyed and bushy tailed -5, -10 and 10+ Newbies ready for a morning in the dunes. Thanks to @Barish for organizing the drive.

The group were split into 3 convoy's based on number of drives completed. I had asked Barish to be placed in a lower drive - although i was very keen to join the 10+ to hone my skills as much and possible, unfortuneately i was having problem with my susspension leaking and i didnt want to put it under too much pressure until i could have it fixed. so I was positioned in the -5 group along with older newbies @piotr and @Flor as they had little ones with them from the night before.

briefing done on off we went lead by @giorgio @Flor in 2nd lead, @Rooies in the middle to help out any hapless drivers @Tomvanhouten sweeping and the ever watchful general @Barish floating. i was positioned at the back with just @Victoria and tom behind me.

it was an interesting drive for the-5 drivers with plenty varying terrain to test their developing skill set. The pace was brisk and the beginning of the drive did not cause any major issues. a few second tries and the occasional stuck, but fortunately no pop outs. @giorgio increased the pace and the level of the challenges and this in turn increased the number of second tries. the terrain was quite technical with drops with multipule steps, sharp turns and the bottom of the drop, instant climb after completing a drop. ditches ! and some nice fast paced low arches.

towards the end unfortunately the roller coaster ride took its toll on the stomach contents of the little ones and our second lead had to retire early. I instructed by the general to assume 2nd lead. Were earlier i was "playing around at the back of the convoy - even listening to music ! now I needed 110% focus to follow @giorgio maintain the right distance, listen for instructions and ensure I did everything ! was told to do to ensure the safety of the driers behind me. I loved every minute - following a driver with immense skill is a great way to observe and learn.

All too soon it was over and we headed to the end point to inflate.

It may have been a -5 drive but i still gained valuable lessons
My take aways

- Radio communication is important ! turn your music off at this level of skill, listen and follow instructions, failing to do this may result in a roll over - Turn down means turn down all the way to the bottom. Stop means Stop ! until the recovery team gives you clear instructions.
- Following distance - don't follow too close, don't loose sight of the vehicle in front. if you are unsure of the track to follow - stop and call on the radio a senior member will come and lead you back to the convoy.
- If your front bumper falls off some one will pick it up for you !
Until the next Adventure

Brett
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giorgio
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All stars drive:

With the 3 convoys set to go I was assigned to lead the 5- group.

@baris which was the organizer was my floating Marshall as well. @Flor was my second lead (thank you flor you did amazing job keeping the rest of the convoy safe. @Rooies was set in the middle of the convoy and responsible for all the rescues (good job brother and thank you for the help to get out of that mess). @Tom was the sweeper and with his new baby undergoing modification was driving BIG RED (which we all know that he shows no mercy so rescuing anyone is not in his book). The convoy set to cover a 30km track full of surprises.

Overall the drivers did a good job. Mostly staying out of trouble and with a fairly good flow.
We had no pop outs which was a surprise to me. Few second tries and couple of assisted recoveries which are to be expected.

@baris was coordinating everything. From recovering lost drivers that followed the wrong convoy, to directing car recoveries and chatting with the drivers during the break feeding them with valuable info of how to improve.

It was a great morning on the sand that I believe that everyone enjoyed. Looking forward to see you all again on the upcoming drives.

Until then stay all safe.

PS. @brett congratulations for your win. It was well deserved and I enjoyed every bite of what was offered to me.
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chriswing
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Was a great drive! Thanks to @Shamsi for putting me in the second lead position. First time for me doing that and was a great learning experience. The whole convoy was excellent and the team spirit was fabulous, especially when helping out with the F150 pop out and recovery. Looking forward to the next drive!
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Bill
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Great day in the Dunes, thanks for @Barish for organizing a nice route.

I was in the 5+ Convoy lead by the one and only FASTER FASTER @alshamsi_m he did challenge us as usual, the convoy a bit too fast for me in the first half of the day as I didn't join for more than 6 months, things improved in the second half of the day UNTIL I got my first pop out.

I'm glad this happened in end of Oct, it was around the end of the trip where I had to go up and do a hard turn I felt the wheel acted funny while reversing for the 2nd attempt.

after stepping out to check to my luck it is a pop out, I was happy I never seen one and practice make perfect cool .

the Team immediately announced it on Radio and in less than 2 min there was 4 Cars for support, @alshamsi_m lead the operation, it took 2 jacks 5 shovels and much more pax to fix it, double recovery to pull me out and luckily no NEW tyer it seem the leak is caused by sand as the tyer never deflated till today.

many thanks to everyone for the support, and see you soon
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Nabeel
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This is a drive that I would never forget… if not the drive but definitely for the lesson learnt from it….

Please please do ensure that the towing/recovery points are perfect and need to be checked periodically for integrity…. Went thru the tow point failure 1st hand when I was being pulled out and it flew past and hit the car causing a dent in the back door. Thank God and very fortunate no one was hurt. But could have turned out worse….must say was lucky…..

Later also had an issue with the 4x4 not getting engaged and had to make an early exit….

Appreciate the patience, composure and dedication of the marshals and the supports… hugely indebted….!

Hoping to see better days….. until next time….!

Regards,
Nabeel.
Ehab
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Hi Everyone, i was in the 10+ convoy lead by Rade, supported by abujimmy, presa and daggerfall in addition to few intermediate drivers. Not the first time in this area and not the first time to go through this technical terrain. Its interesting to see how our skills evolve, for me personally i remember my first technical trip, stressed, pushed the car too much and in some cases panicking, with more and more technical trips in addition to F13, now i take it very easy and smoothly handle all situations. I feel and being told this is a preparation for something very interesting and challenging, well, i cannot wait.
2 pop-outs, one flat tire and some other mechanical issues occurred which is expected in extreme technical areas like this. All handled quickly without any delay and our trip continued for almost 4 hours.

The trip ended next to Al Qudra where we met other drivers from other convoys, the weather was still bearable but the sun was direct.
Looking forward seeing you again soon, enjoy the video:
Last edited by Ehab on Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ozgur
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Hello everyone!

After a short break because of the work and also 1 time I couldn’t find a place to register, I was happy to drive with ALMOST4X4 family. That’s why many thanks all the seniors drivers and supporter drivers, also specifically to @Barish organizing this drive!

I was driving with -5 convoy, leading by @giorgio. It was nice and smooth drive for me. We had seen only few rescue, other than this all was floating on the sand. We have done mostly straight crossing. But I can say I start to know, how I should come down from top of the hill. Basically it was like learning my car better.

Maybe we have drove 3 hours but I felt like it was very short , that’s why looking for the next drive.

Thanks for all drivers and mostly support teams for having a nice drive!
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