Goodbye July

[Barish]

Its been since a long time being to Badayer..waether was hot, can not say nice but this is the fact nowadays..

All area was messed up; full of safari cars and some individual heroes trying to weld themselves to our convoys or cross through..soft sand also was making it difficult some times to keep the speed up for the convoy.

Overall it was a nice drive and i believe all the drivers did very well. There are 3 key take aways from this drive; (1) radio comm, (2) radio comm, (3) radio comm ..!

Thanks to [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] for the surprising gift and [mention]Booy[/mention] for the lead on a secure track among all these safari convoys.

Lets repeat again; improve during your change otherwise change will be a long age..!

See you on the sand.

Barish

[DustnGlory]

Goodbye July was a drive after a long break and it was worth it. The 'mini' safari style model was interesting and added to the learning.

I was in [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] 's convoy with [mention]presa[/mention] [mention]JockJKU[/mention] and [mention]Agalon[/mention] supporting the convoy and [mention]Tammam[/mention] as the sweep. The drive was relatively smooth except for a stuck that was able to self recover, a few second tries and a pop-out. And for the first time I was able to come out without getting the truck stuck and be rescued :)

We got to see what needs to be done when the pop-out happens in a difficult position. 2 vehicles were used to form a chain and then gently bring the one with the pop-out to level ground. We also got a lesson on position of the valve during inflation and other scenarios.

As mentioned by the others, radio communication and maintaining the right distance is key during this type of driving because one can end up too close to the vehicle in front with no time to respond or lose the momentum required to complete the side wall. This can also force us to stop our vehicle in a compromising position which can become dangerous.

At the end of the drive we got to see the intermediates and advance having fun on the Big Red after which some of us left while the others continued the evening with the some karak.

Thank you founder, marshalls, rescue team and all members for another memorable drive. See you in sand soon....

[Rooies]

We all met at the meeting point, there where a few new faces I have never seen before, but as usual everybody was chatty. We completed the normal stuff, deflate, briefing & then it was time ti hit the sand. I was in Booy's convoy, 4th from the front. Recently installed new suspension & was looking forward to testing it.

The drive was safari style, lots of ups & downs, lefts & rights. There were not to many issues & overall the going was good. There was one or two second tries. We stopped behind Pink Rock & one by headed up the dune.

After leaving Pink Rock we stopped for a bit & then headed to Big Red. There were a lot of safari tours in the dunes & they even tried to cross paths with us, but our sweeper sorted them out. We all stopped at Big Red 7 then the marshals & intermediates had time to play.

The new suspension works very well & I am happy with the setup, few less worries going up & down the dunes.

The day ended with us having a sit down & enjoying the sunset at the bottom of Big Red.

Till we meet again in the sand, take care.

[a_parkar]

Hi Guys,

I reached the meeting point a few minutes before time and most of our members were already gathered over there. We had the briefing by [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention]. I was a part of [mention]Booy[/mention] convoy with [mention]Razan[/mention] as the second lead and [mention]giorgio[/mention] as the 3rd car in the convoy. Our drive was a safari style drive with a slightly faster pace compared to the previous drives. There were a few second tries during the drives.

I would like to thank the all the marshals and the intermediate members for their support during the drive.

[alshamsi_m]

Hello Everyone

This drive was planned for the 27th of July that is why we called it " Goodbye July " but once we found another window on this weekend so it got shifted. You might think that some members would stand down because it is a major change in the weekend DATE graffiti . Well none of the members stood down they were all ready to rearrange their schedules . grin

We had a very nice drive in overall , the best parts were standing on top of pink rock and the sitting near Big Red dune. thumbsup

Around 8 pm it was time to say goodbye to all and looking forward to see you again after Salalah.

Till then keep the sand flying and I'll see you in a drive that removes the MUD from my car yaeh am not durnk

Cheers

[Kris_K]

Hi all,

Much has been already said in the above posts.
What I would add is, that for me it was another a very different drive to the previous ones and the first “safari style” one.

After [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] briefing I was setting up my radio. I was trying a new set of earphones which fell apart after 5 second use. By the time I managed to get quickly back to the original good old handheld micphone and by the time I reached [mention]Booy[/mention] convoy, consisting of 17 cars, if I remember correct, was already set and ready to go. I was 2nd last (not counting the convoy support vehicles) in front of [mention]Kals[/mention] (his truck as a default gets the last spot in any convoy).

That was the first time I was so far from the convoy leader. The sand surface after 15 cars in front was “demolished”. Also there was a few Desert Safari convoys crossing our one. A few times I jumped over the disturbed surface and since in Patrols’ the 2h-4h-4l lever is virtually sitting on driver’s knee, I must have disengaged the 4wd. Shotly after I had a 2nd try during of which Mohanad (thanks) did ask me to check whether the 4wd was engaged. It was not. Lesson learned: check every now and the the location of the lever.

What I learned was that my coils are too soft and during the high pace drive and change of inclinations from left to right and occasional jumps over small ditches, the car felt wanting to do something different to what the driver wanted. My suspicion that the suspension is too soft was confirmed by [mention]JockJKU[/mention] driving my Safari up the Big Red. I consider a change of coils for harder ones after the Salalah drive. I’ll keep it for now for the motorway comfort drive up and down 3000 km

Driving in front of [mention]Kals[/mention] I enjoyed the noice of his V8.

After the drive we sat at the feet of the Big Red. I enjoyed the chat.
[mention]JockJKU[/mention] drove me up the hill in my Safari and his JKU. I could compare the both cars’ suspensions which I would also compare to my two cycling bikes. Mine Patrol s like MTB with front and rear suspension, [mention]JockJKU[/mention] is like a road racing bike, although your ..se akes after a few kilomters and you feel every wrinkle of the surface under the wheels , the bike responses to a smallest touch of the steering and controls.

After all members left home I stayed in a complete darkness to adjust direction of my lights.

Thank you all, club seniors for guidance, juniors for the company.

See you in the sand after Salalah.

Kris