Desert Gazing - Revenge of the sand

[alshamsi_m]

Hello Everyone

You might think that you have seen it all with our Desert Gazing throughout the years but this drive proved the opposite!!!

I always mentioned to you that these drives are used to be a custom with my younger age drives with my friends on Ramadan Nights but I never mentioned how long we stay out in the desert !!!

Revenge of the sand was the answer, We spent 6 hrs 21 mins and we did 84 kms which was a drive from Al Faqqa to Al Qudra. Having in mind because of the dark condition everything is multiplied by 2


To Be Continued .....

[Mghoneim]

Hello Almosters!

As promised in the pm, the way to the meeting point was far not to mention the radars hiding in the dark in the Faqaa strip.

“Gather up gather up “ yelled on time and most of the usual suspects are already in the briefing held be @alshamsi_m . The drive kicked off and it was magical to me, lots of soft sand (unexpected after this rain), and some interesting climbs. Quiet a busy night with second tries and recoveries, I have had a couple of second tries as well.

The traditional kayak/coffee stop was due, where we had a chitchat and waited for everyone to join after this mystery dune that most of us suffered.


Off we go to resume this beautiful track. A while after we stopped for quiet some time to fix Shamsi’s pop out where I saw a beautiful scorpion under @Tomvanhouten ‘s car .

A few more Kms and we are at alqudra lakes almost 3 hours and 30 mins behind schedule.

Truly one of the best drives I had with the club since I joined in 2021.( but still nothing beats liwa)

See you all in the sand

Mghoneim

[Tomvanhouten]

Hi everyone,

Night no. 1 was set as a newbie drive from Faqaa back to Qudra with some surprises designed into the track.
Being a night drive complicates things, but this being the third of this year, you could see the improvement of the convoy very well.

Naturally, stucks and second tries are there and, me personally, was held quite busy with that. So busy, that on a certain moment, I was thinking; I want some food! Luckily, there were some snacks to keep the tummy happy

When we were driving thru a certain section, all of the sudden the radio heard; I am stuck and have a pop-out. Ok, let's go......That took us some time to fix, a precarious position, a car who wanted to tilt towards the wheel we were trying to fix and a naughty scorpion freaking me out.
Thanks @Mghoneim ! Actually later on while we were inflated, @Laarni had one more sighting, so I wasn't sure if that came as my passenger or it was one of the 'many' around.
Anyway, good lesson for me

Loved the drive and enjoyed the company, thank you everyone!!

[brett]

Dear Allmosters,

Thanks to @alshamsi_m for arranging the series of Ramadan Night Drives for the Newbies.

I wasn't able to attend the 2nd drive, but the 3rd was to be revenge of the sand and we were informed it would be a marathon ! and a marathon it was setting out at 930pm and only reaching Al Qudra at 3am a total of 82km covering various terrain - some big climbs, some nasty drops, technical areas, flat stretches and VERY SOFT sand.

As is expected there were many 2nd tries and crested/stuck cars throughout the drive @Tomvanhouten certainly was kept very busy - thanks for your efforts Tom.

At one particular climb many of the drivers required a 2nd or 3rd try to conquer the beast ! on that climb I really struggled 3 attempts in 4H, 1st gear, then another attempt in 4L, 3rd gear !! the track was well chewed up by now and the sand was extremely soft. I finally made it in 4L, 3rd gear by taking a slightly higher line in less chewed up sand. Thank you everyone for your patients while waiting for me to clear the obstacle - I finally rejoined the group who were sitting enjoying coffee and karak it was to be a long night at that point we had only completed about 40km -halfway mark !

We set off again and not long after our lead car experienced a very nasty ditch which resulted in a pop out and as mentioned by Tom a rather complicated recovery, so approx 30min was spent rather than the typical 3 to 5min required for a pop out

By now it was getting VERY late and I think everyone was getting tired the Sands were getting their "Revenge" for sure.

I managed to get completely stuck in a small pocket of again super soft sand attempting what would normally be a very simple climb of a very low dune. I was quickly connected to @Gabor and pulled free of the soft area - so it is possible for a Jeep to recover an FJ !! thanks to @Gabor and your co-pilot for extracting me quickly.

Eventually we reached Al Qudra Last Exit. some quick good byes while inflating and everyone headed home for some much needed rest. The benefit for me was I live close by so I was home within 25min.

Thank you to the intermediates for the guidance and support - your presence in every drive is appreciated. Dedication and commitment by core members of this family is what makes Almost4x4 truly the best off-road club

until the next time

I am looking forward to some exciting events coming up in May - keep and eye on the drive app guys and girls !!!

EID MUBARAK
to one and all

[jcarlosgarme]

Hello Almost family

Desert Gazing: revenge of the sand. Similarly as happy feet a week ago, I waited these night drives for over a year. Altogether exceeded expectations. We all reached on time to the place. I recognized some faces already. It was a full night driving, reached home at 4 am... 23.5 hrs after waking up in my case, really felt as all-night off-roading.

@alshamsi_m started the debriefing with @Kevin as Second lead, @Tomvanhouten (kudos Tom everywhere helping others), @mpodroid, @Laarni and @Gabor spread
throughout the convoy to keep an eye in all of us and @Yazan Ali working-out night long floating. All played a great role to keep convoy safe regardless the high level of the drive.

@Deadpool @AZK89 and @PedroLeal in the front making a great job and @Mghoneim ahead of me making an impeccable track thanks! Also, I appreciated having an experienced driver like @brett behind as I did not have to worry too much to watch back and focus more on making myself safe.

Here are my lessons learned:

Full power nice but add 4X4
Just taking off and in the first climb the struggle. 2 second tries in a mini dune and full throttle to reach the top.. thanks @Yazan Ali checking after everyone was sharp to spot I did not have 4X4 engaged... I forgot the basics: off-road in 2H is not a good idea I heard a founder saying something about black points for that ouchhhhhh.

Steering control??
I keep experiencing the car moving side wise... I am thinking now that is the cause could be that previously I had the Pajero handicap being the 3rd or 4th always and that probably because the sand is harder at the front... On this drive I had 9th or 10th position. Question for experience drivers, any advise on this??


Fatigue and drive don't mix.
I prepared for this drive as any other but I should not! Driving in the night requires some previous rest and I came after full week of work plus very long Friday, I should have taken a nap. During a pop-out repair I was falling sleep . Thanks @brett who advised me to especially stay more alert on the last 10 minutes, crucial.

Yellow lights only??
Yellow made it easier to see through the dust... is it a good practice to turn off headlights (white beam) to avoid the reflected beam. Here as well an experienced advise is appreciated...

Too fast too furious:
3 or 4 times I reached the dune faster than I should... once had a small jump and another was an impact test for the skid plate (all good thanks to the good quality at Jass Garage) but I had a hard time to approach with the right speed.

I can't thank enough the club and all of you who make this happen, defo the off-roading is an addictive sport but making it safe is one of the most important skills, this is one of the key priorities in Almost4x4 family. I'm not sure if I would dare to try anywhere else.

All the best and see you soon

Carlos B

[AZK89]

Hello everyone

This Ramadan was different from before, the first Ramadan is for me with the club and driving at night was a new challenge that I have not tried before, and today I feel more enthusiasm and strength than what I was before, I faced some difficulties and temptations on the sandy heights, and that Because of the weak engine torque and the sand was very soft, this was my challenge to know the torque of the vehicle and deal with the soft sand at the same time. At the beginning of the track, I was a bit annoyed, for reasons I don't want to mention, and then I changed my position forward and made me feel better than I was.

@alshamsi_m Thank you for teaching us to drive in the desert day and night, and thank you for developing our capabilities and sharing your experience with us.


@Tom Thank you for helping me 5 times

Waiting more Challenge

[Laarni]

Dear All

thanks for a memorable long drive.