Star tracks XIII

[Mohanad]

Another beautiful day with Almost4x4 ..

i was very happy to see our family growing, many happy members joined our drive after the CM drive last week.

I was assigned to @rapailo convoy, I was impressed by the route he took. he changed the level of the drive up and down depending on the convoy performance. we had @Tomvanhouten who assisted the newbies with self recoveries and second tries. we had @Sostick who helped in recoveries and keeping the convoy intact. @Flor was sweeping and making sure no one is left behind. and i was enjoying my time with my new toy in the last quarter of the convoy. now i was looking for words to describe @Barish but honestly i couldn't find ! he was everywhere like a Ninja , one time in the back of the convoy and suddenly he is at the beggining of the convoy assisting the newbies with the drops or straight crests (thank you man, you make everyone's lives much easier).

the convoy was long, i guess we were 14 cars in total, so at some times we were stretched and some disconnections happened. it is very important to keep adequate distance between you and the car in front of you. if you cant see the car infront of you, it is very important to call it on the radio. if you felt tired or needed a break for any reason it's important too to call it on the radio. we are all friends and big family so we will all support each other.

i hope everyone enjoyed the drive and learned something and gained more skills.

See You In The Sand !

[Arjun_M]

Just to get it out there, it's not even been more than 24 hours since the weekend and I already cannot wait for the next drive.

I cant get over how organized this club is. Its a proper organization with structures and tiers with a goal of making people better. Its great and i love it. Anyways, ill get right into it now.

I was in @rapailo convoy behind one of the intermediate drivers @Sostick . It was a nice enjoyable drive through the desert that had a little bit of everything in it. No major incidents occurred, just the usual second tries and self recoveries. Only once did we need to bring out the recovery gear, that being said it went really smooth and the convoy was on the move once again.

Barish decided to stop the convoy relatively early in the drive because i believe he felt a briefing was required that would help the convoy tremendously. Might i add, he was absolutely correct. The briefing mainly comprised of two points:

1) The famous newbie position (described by @alshamsi_m in the CM drive) of being crested on the top of dune. Both Barish and Rapialos described the situation and how to avoid it which I feel really helped the convoy.
2) Pace of Convoy and Radio instructions.
That being said, I think just watching the people in front of me improve right after the briefing is a testament of the marshalls judgements and them doing what they do so well. The convoy was definitely much smoother right after the briefing and definitely a lot more fun.

Finally in the end, on route to our chilling spot with the other convoy, we encountered a little problem with @princess tire. Although new to this club, ive been on quite a number of drives in the desert and seen a lot of pop outs, in fact had multiple myself. But ive never seen a pop out from the inside. This was really interesting to me so i paid close attention and was right there helping the marshals out so i could learn a thing or two which i did. But unfortunately we couldnt fix the tire and had to put the spare on.
And that was where we saw the sunset :D

Finally we joined the rest of the group by the camping area near Triple Tree. This was especially fun because there were still a few people around and it was good to get to know them in person within a smaller group. We had some good laughs over kahwa and dates and the lessons weren't over yet. We learnt from @rapailo that whatever you do, you don't want to drown in montenegro cause people are lazy and they won't help you even if they see you haha.

It was a pleasure to join you guys and im very happy that everyone is so accepting. I can already see that i will learn a lot of things that have never really been spoken about elsewhere in other clubs. I am looking forward to growing through the ranks.

Arjun

[osman]

Hello Almosters,

There was a large take-up numbers on the 5- drivers with also lot interest from 5+ as well. @Barish kindly accepted all and split the convoy into two. He stated in the briefing that our club is not about race or show-off but learning and applying the correct techniques for safe and enjoyable desert driving. Nothing is wrong or to be ashamed of getting stuck in due process.

I was assigned as the 7th car in @giorgio's convoy to support the cars in front, @alshamsi_m floating as the eagle eye with skillful hands and endless resources, @orlantsev as the floating support all around. @Laarni sweeping and @Ehab as support at the back side of the convoy with the camera on.

We had some stucks, some cresting, some second tries, pop-outs, pulls, etc. This is all part of the game. Just follow the warnings and instructions form the founder, marshals and explorers. But please make sure on radio comms, identify yourself first and then communicate your message.

We finished the drive just before the sunset. As usual, @alshamsi_m offered coffee and karak with home made cookies (quiz: what is the color of the thermos of coffee and karak?). The other convoy arrived well after dark, which means they also had bit of a taste of a night drive. Some chose to stay back and have a chit-chat but I guess everyone left around 8.

Hoping to see on the sand again...