Almost4x4

The Sun & surf drive was amazing & eventful. grin
We were split into 2 convoys, one led by Booy and the other by Daggerfall.
Dagerfall`s convoy departed 1st from the meeting point and we left shortly after.
I was in Booy`s convoys supported by Issa, Youssef, Barish & watched over by Jock.
We got a brief on safe side cresting before departure from Booy and we were then on our way into the desert.

The 1st part of the drive was fast & and then we moved into the technical areas.
I believe Booy decided to give us a prelude to EiB, and I must say it's going to be an interesting drive next week. Psmiley
Today's drive was all about driving on top of the crest with an introduction to side cresting.
There were a couple of times where we stopped to be briefed mid drive by Jock & were cautioned about technique - this was much needed.
This was my 1st introduction to side cresting & I did have a couple of Oh Shit moments! serious business
The order was rearranged with the fresh 10+ newbies moving up to the front of the convoy.
And we were on our way again.
I believe after this the driving was more disciplined.

Closer to sunset we encountered a Patrol badly stuck with 9 passengers, out of which 7 were falcons! ORLY
He was in a ditch sideways with 2 pop outs on the driver’s side & he had been driving without brakes!!
The 7 passengers were moved into Issa`s Jeep before the Almost recovery team got into action.
Booy & Jock assessed the situation and Barish jumped into recovery mode & joined 2 ropes.
He made 5 or more attempts at pulling the patrol out and on his last attempt the rear recovery point from the patrol snapped off & went flying into Barishs Jeep!!
Fortunately the only parts damaged was the number plate, rear fender flare & the number plate holder.
The recovery point was as sharp as glass and could have easily caused grave damage had it gone anywhere else.
I was planning on getting me a pair of soft shackles , but after witnessing this 1st hand I am going to retire my metals shackles and move to soft shackles sooner than later, safety first!
Imagine what would happen if the rope was anchored by metal shackles!
With the Patrol still stuck at the edge of the ditch, Kals brought the V8 power to the show and was able to safely pull the Patrol out. XD

By this time daylight had faded completely and there were 2 pop outs to fix.
Issa , Optimus, Mabubaker, Kris & Bu Zayed worked side by side and got the pop outs rectified in no time.
Amazingly the driver of the patrol didn't feel the need to deflate after and had been driving all the while without deflating too, God bless him!
He was still having problems with the car after and called on help from his brother.

By then Booy gave instruction to us to make our way out to the nearest gatch road 2km away.
Booy leading & Jock sweeping we drove desert gazing style out.
On the way to the tarmac we spotted Dogs being walked from quad bikes wtfsmilie , seemed like they were Salukis being trained or out on their evening walk!
We made it back to the tarmac in al Qudra by 1930.

Another new experience for us in the desert! cool
Thanks to Booy, Jock, Barish, Issa and Youssef for watching over us.
See u all in the sand. thumbsup

We met with friends during lunch in our famous gathering point in Al Faqa, fruits and coffee time..

It was quite a long drive to the meeting point since my tyres were deflated and i think it was the messenger of the coming looong daaay..

It was really a fast paced drive perfectly led by [mention]Booy[/mention] and i think all drivers accepted the challange. I hardly remember since some time that i was also having that difficulty to catchup the convoy floating from left and right..we reached the technical area however observations created the need for a briefing especially to fine tune the site crests.

Noone knew that it would be that late when we approached to the lost patrol stuck in the ditch with also 2 popouts and dead engine and no brakes. I pulled the patrol as if there is no tomorrow, i dont know how many times, and was little left to "no tomorrow" in the last one, but i was happy to see that the back side of the patrol was over the crest.....While i was fixing my broken plate light, i heard a sound that no other sound couldnt make me that happy: Patrols engine sound

I would like to thank all drivers and support team also for the full dedication during popouts fix and help during the push of patrol by manpower when he was stuck the second time on flat ground..

I was not believing the day was over but really was over.

We are all chging but the ones who improve will survive.

See you on the sand again.

Barish

Hello Almosters,

Sun and Surf was an action packed day!

We started off on a fast paced drive where the convoy was practicing how to side crest safely. To be honest there were a few scary moments where members were fighting gravity. Please always remember that there is no shame in second tries, if you are not 1000% sure you will make it, always turn down.

After that we entered a technical area, so i believe the drivers had all their skills tested that day. grin

At that point we had met the infamous patrol owner. It seems that everything that could be wrong with a car was wrong in his XD . I am thankful that we were able to support him and no one was hurt in the process.

Thank you all for a great day and hope to see you soon.