Into the Heat

[Tomvanhouten]

Morning 6am in Nahil.
Three marshals, a quick briefing and a small amount of drivers were present, there we go!

Not very late in the drive, one car had to leave, so the convoy got even smaller, then a second car and we were down to a very tinny convoy of three with some intermediates. Let the fun begin!

Fast and well orchestrated, the leading car found its way thru the dunes and all ended up on a lovely spot near the road.

Thanks Giorgio, Barish and Daggerfall, lovely to drive this area again!

[Vika]

Hello everyone!

Well, what a morning! What a drive! Just Wow!

The more I learn offroading, the more I want to learn and not miss a single opportunity to get new skills, regardless of the season, drive time and location.

Now with full confidence I can say that I have realized the expression of our marshals: "Less is more"
Despite the small number of participants, this drive was accompanied by the bigger number of support. Track under the leadership of @Giorgio was incredibly intense and corresponded to a fairly high level. General @Barish, provides full control and security. @Dagerfall motivated with his driving style while floating. For me, the presence of @Laarni during the drive is always important, she is a special person for me in our club. In general, in this drive, all the puzzles were formed, beautiful weather with a fresh breeze, team spirit, track itself, speed, complexity and, of course, adrenaline. At the beginning, the convoy experienced difficulties, unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to two members, but you can never be sure when you will be among them. This is a desert, and the desert does not forgive mistakes. Then we managed to catch the flow and fully enjoy the drive. I also finally managed to get stuck like a big girl , I got crested and was rescued by @Tom.

I want to thank @Giorgio for such a colorful morning and all the participants, who made this event happened. I got incredible pleasure and a lot of new skills.

Looking forward for the next time.

With big love and gratitude.

Yours Vika

[brett]

Dear Almosters
Into The Heat 22/7/23 as the name suggested it was expected to be a very “Hot” drive.
However, with the very early start time of 630am, when arriving at the meeting point in Sweihan the temperature was quiet mild (for UAE) at only 34C.
Thanks to @Girogio for arranging the drive and @Daggerfall and “The General” @Barish for joining as floating support marshals.
A quick briefing from @Girogio advised the drivers of the intended track and what type of terrain and conditions we could expect.
We set off with @Victoriaa as 2nd lead, @Tom_Vanhoutan and @Laarni mixed in the convoy for support if required, I was assigned as sweeper to make sure we didn’t leave anyone behind.
@Girogio mentioned in the briefing that the sand would be soft – all the drivers became very aware of this point within the first few minutes of the drive, we started encountering multiple 2nd tries on relatively small climbs, some of the drivers had not deflated enough to suit the conditions, trying to navigate the soft sand with pressure of 12psi (or more). So, the convoy stopped, and drivers were given the opportunity to adjust the tire pressure to less than 10psi. Once moving again, you could see the difference in the flow of the convoy, however one driver in a long wheelbase vehicle decided the track was not for him on this day and requested to leave the convoy, a wise decision if you are not felling it on the day – safety and mindset are paramount. @Barish escorted him back to the entry point, with me following incase a recovery was needed along the way.
It was getting hot, and did I mention the sand was “Soft” !! the climbs to the straight cross over a dune continued to cause some issue – approach too slow resulted in becoming crested, approach too fast resulted in flying (never recommended as landings are hard and dangerous). Another situation saw a car approach the climb for a second attempted, with a bump at the bottom causing a flying bounce before even starting the climb, with a successful climb and cross. However the next driver had not seen the situation and attempted to begin the climb at a high speed, resulting in him hitting the bump at the base of the dune, launching and landing extremely hard with sand flying – needless to say he did not make the climb, the end result being some damage to the bumper and potentially bent steering rod – it was game over for him and although the car was drivable it was decided to escort him out to the road, again led by @Barish with me following for support. This was a highlight for me as I got to follow @Barish, at speed, back into the dunes to reconnect with the convoy.
So we had lost 2 cars from the starting number of 12, meaning we had lost 16.6% of the convoy, we could not afford to lose another one! fortunately the drive continued to the end without further incidents.
The track chosen by @Girogo was a great mix of fast arches, straight climb/crosses and towards the end a very tight technical section.
We finished up back at the road to inflate and head home by 10am – what a great way to start a mid-summer Saturday morning.

[Daggerfall]

Hi Almosters,

Even in the middle of summer the weather is great in the desert between 6:00 to 9:30 so I think it worth waking up early.

Every new drive we gave the opportunity to our members to push themselves if they want to improve their skills. Going through different type of obstacles, driving faster, learning to protect their tires with lower tire pressure on soft sand and most importantly learning from their and other's mistakes.

The desert is full of surprises so when you are driving in a convoy you have the advantage of observing the car in front of you. Its speed, its mistakes etc. and noticing those little "surprises" ahead but If you don't observe you might end up in a nasty ditch, fly, hit a wall etc. to a level that you might have to retire from the drive. So please make it a habit to always observe the others and you will benefit a lot!

It was another great morning in the desert and thanks to our organizer, support and all participated.

See you next time!

[giorgio]

into the Heat,

This morning drive found us in Nahil area on a very fresh morning considering the time of the year

The soft sand made the drive more challenging
The convoy had some difficulties early into the drive and unfortunately we lost 2 of our valuable members.

Radio communication proper distance and correct momentum were the skills that we concentrated on this drive.

it is important for all drivers in these low level drives to understand the advantage of driving in a convoy form
Looking the driver in front of you prepares you for what is coming, and what to avoid.
On mid side dunes watching the flag of the car in front of you is also essential and useful.

The convoy over all did quite well with several second tries and couple of pop outs which gave the opportunity to the members to see how to attend in an emergency like this

I would like closing my report to thank all the members along with the supporting team second lead and supporting Marshalls which put the time and the effort to guide the members in their off-roading experience.

Until next time drive safe and Looking forward to see you at the end of August which i will be posting my first drive for the new season

[Barish]

Hi everyone,

Into the Heat was a summer drive started with early wake up and cloudy weather, then went on driving into the heat.

The organizer chose such an area that you can experience almost all kind of terrains in a Newbie drive to leverage up the skills. 10- drives are the drives you continue to get to know your strengths and weaknesses to improve or invest on those by monitoring yourselves in such areas. Its an opportunity to practice the basic needs such as comms, driving distance, straight crests, short arches, convoy rules.

Its important to see the terrain and monitor the other cars ahead of you to decide on your next action. Multiple tries, stucks are normal, nothing to shame as soon as you do not jeopardize yourself or others.

Thanks to giorgio for the track and lead and all support team for the great efforts. Big claps to the members who made it really into the heat.

Dont forget; change is not in question if improvement is not there.

See you next time.

Barish

[Laarni]

Dear everyone,

here is my trip report..hope you all enjoy watching...

thanks for the nice drive