Ramadan Bats 2.0

[Green Giant]

First of the Ramadan Night Drives - what was a reasonably short list of Intermediate drivers on the list, turned into a large gathering of the family as Advanced, Explorers and Marshalls outnumbered us at Al Badayer! After a very quick brief from Abu Jimmy, off we set into the night. A good pace was maintained and despite a couple of short pauses for troublesand reorganising the convoy, we were very quickly into a rhythm. Very few problems in the convoy, a couple of second rounds but all in all very good. We came across a few locals (I think Safari drivers) who had a partial rollover (onto side) but didn't need any help at that time. Soon after we reached Pink Rock (unrecognisable en route I must say) and had a break for chit chat and refreshments. Reversing the route from Pink Rock back to Al Badayer the pace was well maintained and the only issue was a pop-out near the back of the convoy (never did find out who?). About 10 minutes later, Al Khatib said he had seen some hazard flashers in the distance and we redirected to see if we could offer assistance. It was the same group we had seen before who couldn't (apparently) find an easy route back to the road as they were trying to tow the car which had rolled. A quick decision to deploy a Viking as tow rope, Al Khatib led the tow party and the rest of us back to Al Badayer. All in all an enjoyable drive. Thanks Abu Jimmy for arranging and sweeping, Al Khatib for the lead and Strawb for Sweep. See you all in the sand again soon.

[ginger]

I was looking forward to, but at the same time I was a little apprehensive, not having much night-driving experience.

Arriving at the meeting point my concern increased as everyone showed off their many extra high-powered lights!
When we got going however I really enjoyed myself, and this time used full-beam headlights together with my stock fog-lamps and was able to see where I was going. I had previously made the mistake of using only dipped-beam headlights and really struggled to see where I was going.

The other lesson learnt was better ‘reading of the dunes’, and trying to see what the dark areas of sand ahead might be. I suppose it's simply down to experience.

The convoy did well. The track itself was relatively straight forward, with a just a few second rounds and one popout. I think we could have improved communication more by reporting second rounds on the radio, as we did end up with too many cars in a bowl on a couple of occasions.
The highlight was getting to the top of Pink Rock and enjoying a cool(ish) breeze and great chitchat.
It was also good to meet up with the big boy’s convoy back at the inflation point, and then head back for a well-earned sleep! Many thanks to all the organisers for another fun trip.

[bombays]

We all met at badayer shops. This was my 3rd night drive this season. we started to move towards pink rock and track was excellent. This is best part of khatib as he takes us through challenging route every time. Strawb and abu jimmy were our guiding angels. Lost track and big thanks to abu jimmy for guiding me back to convoy. had great relaxation session at pink rock and started moving back. And experienced my first pop out. After fixing started to roll again and ended again at badayer. Thanks Al Khatib , Strawb , Abu jimmy and all members for making this drive wonderful.