Desert Gazing - The dunes have eyes

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Tomvanhouten
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Hello everyone,

Having fixed the fan issues on my car only the night before, I test drove the car before the drive for about 250 km to make sure, I would pass thru drive.
All good and ready for some dark adventures!

Actually the planning was a bit different, but that is what planning is for...to be changed.
Some long time ago, I prepared all the extra lights and mounts, which I wanted to install, but unfortunately it never came to that, due to various reasons. Anyway, driving yesterday did do some good in that perspective, as I could clearly notice that different circumstances ask for different lightning and me having only two choices (normal lights and a bar on the roof) didn't made me flexible.

The drive itself was very calm and relaxing and on the other hand we went up climbs where only 'green fog' was in front of the car and I couldn't see the end of hood anymore cool
I loved it to be out there with all you guys although after two hours of sleep, I do feel kind of tired right now, but can't wait till the next one!

Thank you all for making this remembered,

Tom
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alshamsi_m
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Hello Everyone

Finally, the day of desert gazing has arrived. I was planning to reach before the members to give them some comfort that they are in the right spot since this meeting point was not one of our casual meeting points to be surprised that almost everyone where there before me, hiding in the dare :yarr:

We had 50+ km of a drive but it was an introductory night drive for our newbies so I designed it in a way to make it a relaxed one but I couldn't help it not to hide some surprises to wake you up grin

Driving in a semi forest area " at night " was a new experience for our newbies and that shows you the importance of having the right lights in the right areas.

The sitting and gathering was my favorite " as always " where I had the chance to catch up with you guys. but the surprise that the weather was COLD :;^^: so next time I'm bringing my light jacket.

We finished the event at 2 AM but @Booy , @Abu Jimmy & our leader @Gabor drove back to the desert to pull one more rescue mession before we call it off for the night.

I think the Desert Gazing - Night outlaws is going to open today and I'm sure that we are going to have another blood shade over the seats. I have to warn you that we don't have enough marshals this time so don't expect too many seats.

See you next Tusday
Shamsi
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piotr
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Dear Almosters,
We had a great intro to night driving, yesterday, I enjoyed the drive thoroughly - thank you @alshamsi_m and @Booy for organizing it and taking the lead!

When I arrived at the location there were already many Almosters present, chit-chatting and commenting on each others newly-set-up lighting equipment ;) The briefing was very short (and quiet); I was allocated to the convoy led by @Booy - we departed first but for some strange reason ended up arriving second in the final camp location;)

The idea was to drive mostly on tracks and a bit of dunes. Overall the drive was super relaxing, the convoy moved smoothly and there was minimal amount of issues (if you do not count BigRed's transmission giving up half-way). We did a fair number of climbs, and drove through many picturesque locations (e.g. some desert "forests"). The final camp was an added benefit - beautiful location on top of a dune overlooking the sea (with the moon going slowly down into the water!)

My lights worked very well until the first stop when the main bar refused to switch back on - luckily in this drive I could go about with only the stock and two spot lights, but this needs to get fixed before the next drive!!.

One thing to keep in mind is that with a lot of dust from the vehicles in front the lights just do not work - one can barely see 1m in front in some places (mostly roads). Best thing is to switch the lights out then :)

Overall we covered 52 km and drove for 3h.

Thank you all for a great night out! :) (and one of a kind!) I came back home at 3am:)
Last edited by piotr on Wed Apr 21, 2021 10:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
David
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2 convoys, 1st one lead by Booy with Abu Jimmy floating around, I was allocated to this one as support alongside Mpodroid, Gabor, and Kimoz (sorry if forgetting anyone, not easy in the dark ...), 2nd one with Bu Salem and Rashid.

We left first, mainly desert tracks in a drive planned for newbies to get used to driving in these conditions and to their desert lights, I personally did not know that part of the UAE and I am curious to see it in day light as I get the feeling that the "trees area" must be very enjoyable.

Very dusty in some parts, good practice for drivers to get used to driving in this "white fog", a bit annoying as well as it deprives you of one of the best things about night desert driving, windows down!!!

Convoy did well, no major issues neither 2nd tries in the more challenging climbs, just one car got stuck as unlucky to hit a V ditch after one of the higher climbs, I was just behind so my turn to pull which was good as gave me the chance to move around a bit.

Booy was driving Big Red that at the same time as doing the rescue of the car in the V ditch experienced some technical problems, change of plans, Booy driving Abu Jimmy's jeep (yes, the shift in the force we have been feeling for several weeks ...) and Abu Jimmy taking care of pulling the Jimny out of the desert with the help of Kimoz (pulling) and Gabor supporting.

When we reached the camping site the 1st convoy was already there, very beautiful spot, again, must make a note to be there one day for sunset as I am sure very impressive.

Thank you everyone for the drive, from Marshalls and organizers to support and drivers, a very enjoyable experience.

See you on the sand soon.
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Booy
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Hello everyone,

It was really great to spend this night drive with all of you.

I am sure everyone had a chance to look at their light setup to see what is working and what is not, what you need to add, adjust, remove etc, to see even better.

This part of the desert used to be my "backyard" when I lived in Ras Al Khaimah. It's not a "dune bashing" type of desert area, but it is really nice for a day trip out to enjoy the scenery, have a picnic, bbq, camp, and you will be surprised to see all the big dunes/walls that we have passed at night.

Looking forward to seeing you again next Tuesday evening, to continue the fun.

Regards,

Booy
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jayslens
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Hello Almosters!

What an experience this drive has been!
Drive was fairly relaxing one and this spot definitely seems worth coming back to for camping, bbq and photography. It was a beautiful landscape.

I reached quite late at the meeting point so beginning it felt very rushed as I came back home from work late, fill up petrol, grab something to eat. Overall the drive was fun, relaxing barely any 2nd tries though the Big Red gave up in the middle, seeing @Booy in a jeep was hilarious.

The final spot where we all gathered up was really beautiful as well, seeing the moon set. It definitely is a good spot for sunsets. I have come around this area couple of times for drone photography and visiting the mangrove beach oh and how can I forget visiting my childhood memory the famous abandoned Russian plane. It was great to see everyone after long time. Hope to join for the next few night drives.

Big thank you to @Rashidjass for fixing the lights last minute! pacman

Thank you @alshamsi_m @Booy @Rashidjass @Abu Jimmy @KIMOz @Gabor @Mahmoodyasin for your support and organizing this drive. blank blank

See you all very soon!
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CARLOSS
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Hello everyone,

“The dunes have eyes” drive was magnificent thumbsup due to several reasons:

My first off-road drive at night apart from spotting where to pinch the camping tent; very nice locations with a mix of trees, dunes and finally mangroves being an area completely unknown to me playingsmiley ; nice pace and relaxing drive…well, relaxing to some extend because from time to time I was not able to see more than 1 meter beyond my hood pissed off (at the beginning I thought that it was because of the wrong location of my light bar but after I discovered that all of us were having the same issue you're kidding, right ), lovely spot for the final get together before we left. Worthwhile to see the sunset at this spot.

Fortunately, I recorded the drive so I will keep it for surprising some good friends…during the daytime for sure cool . I can imagine is going to be even more beautiful.

Finally, thanks to @alshamsi_m for organizing the drive and giving me a heads up in the lighting issue and @Booy for leading our convoy and sharing very interesting information on the spot, to @Abu Jimmy for his continuous good advices as well as to all the support team @David , @Gabor , @KIMOz , @mpodroid ..sorry if I have forgotten somebody.

See you soon

Carlos
Last edited by CARLOSS on Wed Apr 21, 2021 4:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jasper
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Hello everyone

This is one of the most anticipated drives we have in the club and again it delivers! Since last year we were not able to do it due to Covid, this year I think everyone is really looking forward for this. Thanks @alshamsi_m and @Booy for the lead and giving us a very nice evening. The most challenging part was driving blind in the cloud of dust! You just have to switch off your off-road lights and visibility gets better.

I had an issue with 1 of the pod lights near the windshield as it wasn’t turning on. After few bumps in the drive it started working again! OSMILEY It just needs to be used more often I think.

I was with alshami_m’s convoy to support the rear part of the convoy and our convoy did very well. We had few rescues and second tries but nothing major. @haider alnuaimi was sweeping, @rapailo second lead and @Mahmoodyasin supporting the middle of the convoy.

Thanks again for leading us alshamsi_m and Rashidjass for floating and assisting.

Hope to see you on the next week’s night drive thumbsup

Take care
Jasper
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brett
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Dear Almosters,

The First Night Drive for me ! it was really interesting thank you @alshamsi_m for arranging it all.

We all met quietly in the designated spot, a quick briefing then the first convoy headed out with @Booy leading.

10min later with military precision we were led out by @alshamsi_m. driving through the first part to get into the area was interesting with some small but very steep drops, along the tracks at a reasonable pace - but as mentioned by others the wall of white dust was very challenging i tried several different tactics, lights on lights off, slow down speed up ! nothing worked it was like star wars - may the force be with you ! and feel your way through the dust ! but we all managed it without incident. stopping amongst the trees for a chit chat with coffee and karak was nice, with the ever present @Rashidjass perched high on a dune above us looking down on us like the ultimate predator !.
in and out between the trees, fast (dusty) tracks and then the added bonus some interesting climbs. on one climb I was too soon before the car in front of me and I literally did the climb blind due to the dust - scared the shit out of me !
We roared passed @Booy convoy as they took a break - sorry for likely covering you all in a huge dust cloud.
We had a couple of 2nd tries on some of the climbs. the sand was extremely soft and provided a challenge to us all. The climbs where the "Green Fog" enveloped us there was no way to see through it was like driving blind (and a bit smelly).
At some point I turned off my jeep while waiting for the 2nd tries behind us. when I tried to restart the electronic gremlins took over with it not wanting to go into drive, I managed to sort that out only to discover my off road lights were dead, so i had to proceed with just my stock lights - not really a problem as the track ahead was well lit by the cars in front of me. Then towards the end @alshamsi_m pointed out a famous high dune that the locals would climb in the past. After he did a quick climb and return we were all given the chance to complete the same. the climb was good then a left semicircle turn on the other side before descending back to the group and the next driver took off. It was doing the turn at the top with only my road lights working i fully appreciated the function of the pillar lights - allowing you to see the track as you turn, I had to feel my way around the left turn.
We finished the track and managed to spot "The Donkey" and headed onto E11 the radio call came - police ahead turn your off road lights off ! I was thinking knowing my luck the gremlins would leave and my lights would come back on in front of a police car !
Well fortunately that didn't happen, but as we crossed over to the sand again to head to the final point - i put the jeep back in 4H then low and behold the off road lights were functioning again !.
Sitting on the top of the dune chatting, eating and the amazing view of the moon was a great way to relax after the drive.
We stayed until after 2am and then headed home, it was past 3am when we reached home. managed about 2 hours sleep and then felt rater fuzzy all day, but it was well worth it, bring on next week

Takeaways from the drive
- Radio Communication is important in the dark
- When things go wrong (lights) learn to adapt to the situation.
- Control and momentum are the key to successfully completing a climb
- Concentrate , beware of the gear you are in before a climb ! (trying to climb in super soft in 2nd gear will gobble up you momentum very fast !

A very special thank you to @alshamsi_m for the Harees ! my first time to try this dish, It was amazing

Thanks to all the Marshals and intermediates, for you support, advice and keeping an ever watchful eye on our safety @Abu Jimmy @Booy @alshamsi_m
@Alexandar , @David @Gabor @haider alnuaimi @Jasper @Johanna @KIMOz @Mahmoodyasin @mpodroid @rapailo

The Convoys
@AdrianUAE , @AndreAJ @Asadwrangler @CARLOSS @dorudoru @Flor @Giovanni @James @jayslens @Kris @Laarni @NahorJP @piotr @Stephan @Tomvanhouten

sorry if i missed anyone

See you all again next Tuesday night


Regards

Brett
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Until the next Adventure

Brett
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James
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Another great event with the Almost family, a big thanks to @alshamsi_m for making the arrangements and the intriguing message, no convoy allowed as I pulled into the last gas station to find if full of all of the family. We had @Booy as our lead that is always a real interesting drive, @Abu Jimmy @mpodroid @Gabor and @KIMOz for the support, sad to see wee Big Red in a state of no return, am sure she will be back online soon.

Was great different types or terrain to navigate through, a couple of second tries, no pop outs and a real fun event chatting to all when we stopped. We did see what looked like a fox or cat on the drive. I also picked up a stick under the car and had a moment or what has broken but with a quick break, pulled it out and we were off again. The yellow lights appeared to work best with the sand dust, was amazing to see everyone in front of me light up the desert.

A great sitting area elevated and with a view of the sea, would have been great to sit and watch the sun rise but had to get my son home.

Young James really enjoyed the local specialty dish Harees so thank you to @alshamsi_m

Great support from the team, thanks to@Abu Jimmy @Booy @alshamsi_m @Gabor @Jasper @KIMOz @mpodroid

Until the next time!
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