Razzen Sands

[Iqsaan]

14 cars met at Adnoc - Al Faya on time and we proceeded to the deflation point some 20km away.

Abu Salem's briefing set the tone and we prepared for a very technical and challenging drive.

The razor sharp crests , soft sands and a generous distribution of ditches provided for a great drive and we arrived at the inflation point around 6:30 pm. The smiles on everyone's faces served as indicator to a wonderful day in the sand.

Thanks Bu Salem , Zico , Abu Jimmy , Strawb , Mazaaj and Desert Lizard for the professional convoy management.
Thanks Bu Shahid , Bomolin , Dastoori , Hockey , Aemi , Omar, Fida , Suhail & Delta83 for the good company and support

My personal drive rating (out of 10) :-

Area topography : 8
Track difficulty : 7
Convoy Pace : 5
Overall drive experience : 7

[fida]

I am not the best in writing trip reports but I would like to add following what Iqsan has already described in his brief but sweet report.
The area was amazing and a fabulous opportunity to arrange many more drives. The Beauty was breathless without any tire prints around. It was worth going all the way (above 200km) from dubai and man, it's very beautiful and full of high, and technical dunes. Thank you bu Salem for a brief introduction to new mini Liwa. Soft sand, sharp crests, unpredictible sudden drops and hidden ditches. It has everything one would want to drive a fast pace advance level drive. If the appetizer was 2 pop outs and few stucks of experience drivers then guys wait for main course.

Somehow, I am not in the position to rate any drive on levels 1 to 10 for our satisfaction level when the marshals has already indicated that " It is a kind of exploration drive ". Hope it will answer many doubts on some of my fellow club colleagues.
Hats off to Bu Salem, who was catching up on his sleep despite not feeling well but still kept his committment and provided us an opportunity to be part of one of his exploration trip. Thank you bu Salem. Looking forward to drive this area with Team Almost in near future again.

[Iqsaan]

@Fida ... your comment got me thinking that my drive rating can be miscontrued ...So just to clarify I would like to expand on the topic...
My rating of the drive is not intended as criticism of the marshals but rather as an indicator of my satisfaction level.

Our dedicated marshals have a wealth of desert driving experience and knowledge and are a cut above the rest in terms of planning ,organising , managing and executing drives . The skills I currently possess are but a mere fraction in comparison and I am in no position to even attempt to find fault .

I think drive reports are important as this feedback , be it positive or negative, can be used as a vital tool by the marshals to structure future drives.
I've noticed that after a drive only about 1/3 of the participants write drive reports and that too; mainly thanking the organisers without really providing feedback on their personal drive experience .
My idea was that a simplified drive rating system may encourage more drivers to provide feedback .

[strawb]

[IMG]http://i58.servimg.com/u/f58/14/62/86/87/img_2021.jpg[/IMG]


broke the link after a few hundred meters in Razeen ........ no issues ..... we took it off and continued on our way ...... its a jeep thing

(and i will never joke about my cherokee again .......... LOL)

[IMG]http://i58.servimg.com/u/f58/14/62/86/87/img_2022.jpg[/IMG]


Picked this up on the way home which made me forget about my broken sway bar link

[IMG]http://i58.servimg.com/u/f58/14/62/86/87/img_2023.jpg[/IMG]

I replaced and fixed the sway bar link last night and im ready for this weekend again

Razeen is amazing ..... we will see you again in the very near future .....

From an organizers point of view ...... we can easily achieve a PLUS 10 score if we want to by being strict and selectful on the drivers we bring however that will directly conflict with the objectives of the club .....

We are here to enjoy and work as a team ..... We always drive in the level of the weakest driver and as a result that would be the pace dictated by the convoy ....

We have always welcomed drivers to join our convoys regardless of the cars they drive ..... we do however try to segregate them by skill level so we can achieve the driving level as desired for everyone ....


cheers

[fida]

Dear Iqsan, I didn't intend to criticize on your report but I was giving only my view point. A feedback is vital and I would request all club colleagues to come up and write their reports which should be taken as a positive/negative feedback for future improvisations. You have a gift of writing and please keep it up. My feedback was more a kind of clarification and hence should not be taken as criticism to your words. We all are desert lovers and your dedication and hard work in learning is already paying off and I would encourage to keep on driving regularly.

[Desert Lizard]

Razeen was tough, on both cars and drivers. Definitely not something to joke about. Anyway, I was hesitating on writing a report since I had mixed feelings about the Razeen Trip. It was an exploration trip alright, and exploring isn't all fun, we had a fair share of "adventure" along the way, but glad everyone managed to pull through. However, I have seen too many lift offs and too many close shaves for comfort.

Specifically I wanted to address the "Feedback" mechanism Iqsaan was on about. I am completely with him on the need to provide feedback, and the more structured the better. However, I find the criteria he used rather controversial:

Area Topography: We don't have a rating system for this, so what does 8 mean? Large Dunes with Big Bowls or small sharp very trick ones?

Track Difficulty: The club uses newbie, intermediate, advanced and sometimes enhancers like (+) or (++) to denote the level of the drive, that would have been understandable by all, since we all share that understanding.

Convoy Pace: Again, this is relative, we don't have any frame of reference for pace

Overall Drive Experience: This is more subjective than the previous 3 criteria, and I don't see much relationship with them.

For feedback to have the maximum value, it needs to be understood by both sides, (sender and receiver) in this case while I am sure you know exactly what you mean by each of these criteria, most of us would have a very different Idea. Imagine you tell a newbie the track difficulty is rated 7. Is that 7 from his point of view, or 7 from your point of view. But when you say the track was an [Intermediate +] it would fit somewhere within his mind, and with everyone's mind too.


Just my feedback, and again I must say that was one tough drive..

[Bu-Shahid]

It is never too late....
first sorry for the late report but i was extremely busy and did not want to post my report without the video...
After nice morning trip in Al Khitem (Crocodile lake 2) we all met at ADNOC Al Faya and moved to the desert entry point where the enjoyment was started with drive few kilometers in the sand to reach to the deflating point.
The area was great I was always wondering whether we have nice desert nearby Abu Dhabi (closer than Al Khatim) and it seems we have a lot, the sand was soft and tricky with very interesting track in additional to the Sabkha rally drive :like:
The drive went pretty fine with some minor mechanical issues, stucks and pop outs.

Thank you Bu Salem for this completely new area as well as the great lead as usual, thank you DL, Abu Jimmy, Abu Tareq, Mezzaj and Strawb for the sweep and the support, and thank you for the rest of my friends for the great company.

Please more drives to such areas specially beside Abu Dhabi...it was great to find myself only around 35 km away from home after the drive :grin:

[IMG]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/106 ... 0Sands.jpg[/IMG]


[video=youtube_share;eLnCLi9TKW4][/video]

[Suhail]

:like:
Very nice video Bu Shahid !!