The Rock

[Daggerfall]

Hi everybody

It was a beautiful day in the desert with almosters. We conquered all the big dunes till pink rock and everyone survived

Thanks to all supported and participated.

See you next time

[presa]

Hi Almosters!

We had a great trip with Booy and Dagerfall leading.

Our Chief Marshall Yough showed up to help us improve our skills and we had a brand shinning new jeep enrolling the drive with no more than 20km on the dashboard :) congrats Buddy!!

The drive started early morning and at Daggerfall convoy we had a few second tries and a few drives stuck.

The drivers performed well, with the taste of climbing over the high dunes, one of my most enjoyable style of driving.

Some lost the track, due to the high amount of tracks in the area, but mostly by not keeping the eyes on the car in front, what can be improved for next drives.

We finished with 99% of survival rate - at least a number plate stay behind ORLY ORLY ORLY ORLY

Have a great week and see you in the Sand!

[optimus]

Hi All,

The trip was meant for the members having 5 or less drives but thanks alot to Daggerfall for allowing me to join the drive. Highly appreciate!

The members were divided into 2 convoys lead by Booy and Daggerfall. I was with daggerfall, Presa sweeping, Solmaz, Agalon and our chief Yoggybear were floating around the convoy ensuring the safety of all the members.

The drive was packed with everything matching the level. Members were able to put their skills to test.Everyone performed well.

After climbing the pink rock we took a small break. Rechecked the tire psi, chit chat then headed back to badayer where we inflated.

We had few stucks, 2nd tries and few times lost tracks. It was because of not maintaining the proper distance between the cars and also due to too many tracks the distance plays a very important part. All these situations were safely coordinated and handled by the marshal’s and the support team.

At the end it was yet another amazing day spend in the sand with familia almost 4x4!

Till next time

Optimus

[Rooies]

Thank you Daggerfall for allowing me to come on the drive, I really appreciate it.

I was in Booy's convoy & was second lead. Got a fresh set of BFGoodrich that I was looking forward to testing.

The route was nice, twist & turns, ups & downs & some tricky bits that required a second try. Going up Pink Rock is always fun. Heading back home we did a few side crests & I was able to see what the new tyres could do, result, smiles all the way, no more sliding, fighting & other things..... Really enjoyed the drive & the new tyres did not let down.

Was an enjoyable day in the sand & looking forward to the next drive.

See you all soon & take care.
Rooies

[admin]

New feature .. you can add the images to your posts

[Amar11]

Hi my friends Almosters!

We had a great trip with Booy and Dagerfall leading.
And we had new experience as expected from best offroad team almost 4x4
I really enjoyed, and weather was amazing too.
I cannot wait to see our trip photos, many thanks again to our leaders and organizers.
Have a great week and see you in the Sands again and again ….
thumbsup

[Willie Viljoen]

Good day all,

The Rock was as always well organized and the lead by Daggerfall and Booy excellent. Thank you all (Management) for letting this drive happened in the middle of Ramadan we really appreciate it knowing the sacrifices some has to make.

The day was beautiful and the drive superb. Lots of short turns, up and downs and quite quick. The terrain was challenging and as always if you are not alert a second try will be on your menu! Thank you for all those assisted Daggerfall, Presa sweeping, Solmaz, Agalon and Yoggybear were floating around the convoy ensuring the safety of all the members. What a safe perception one have with all such expertise around you.

Thank you very much and I am looking forward to the next experience
Willie Viljoen

[Booy]

Hello everyone,

We had a nice, fresh, early start on Friday morning - by 7am sharp we started moving. The temperature was good at this time, as planned, and we managed to reach the end point on time by 9:30am when it started getting hot.

The drive from Badayer to Pink rock is a good area for our -5 members, as you can easily change the level of the drive to make it easier, or more challenging, depending on the drivers' abilities on the day.

We had our fair share of challenges, with some second tries, a few stucks, a pop out and for added fun, a V-ditch where some managed to go through on the first attempt, and others had to do a few tries. Then off course some nice high climbs to test the red line of the vehicles. As we always say, when you face challenges and overcome them - that's when and where you learn the most and improve your skills. Well done to everyone.

@Rooies, we have not done any side cresting yet - those were minor side sloping on the hard side of the dune, to see if everyone can stay on top of the dune at a slight angle without sliding down, and offcourse for you to test your new tyres ;-)

One frustration on the day was that the radio communication was extremely poor. Marshals give very very clear instructions in every challenging situation. It is up to you to say you did not understand, or that you are unsure about the instruction. But to repeatedly do exactly opposite of what you were instructed to do and putting yourself in danger is not acceptable. I know that there is also a lot of adrenaline on the day, especially when you are caught in a situation, or unsure of what to do, and that can cloud senses. Therefore the best is to stop, take a deep breath, listen carefully, and act as instructed. In most cases, there is no rush and we will take all the time needed to make a safe recovery, or get you out of a stuck position. In the end, it is about enjoying your car in the sand with good company, in a safe manner - off course, while learning and improving your skills.

Secondly, when you have lost the track, or there are many tracks in front of you and you are unsure which one is for your convoy, STOP IMMEDIATELY, and do not choose a track by yourself. (Offcourse you should not loose the track in the first place, as it means you have created a big gap in the convoy, but it happens and we can handle this safely.) Stop immediately and inform over the radio that you have lost the track. A marshal will send a designated person to bring you back to the track. Under no circumstances should you try to reconnect by yourself. We had a very dangerous situation on Friday where a member lost the track, found some other tracks to get to the convoy, and these tracks were intermediate level tracks. Not only did he endanger himself, but also the cars behind him, as suddenly they were driving an intermediate level track, which will certainly end up in a roll over for an inexperienced driver. We were lucky on Friday, but we have first hand experience of how this ended up very badly.

With that being said, keep driving keep, keep learning, keep improving, and most importantly off all, have fun while doing so.

Hope to see everyone in the sand soon.

Till then...

[mquadros]

It was a great drive. I had the privilege to be the first one after our Marshal Daggerfall and really enjoyed. It was faster than previous drives and very interesting.

I had my first "pull-out" situation and learned that having everything very tight at the back of the car can be a problem when you need the rope and shackles. Being the first occasion the rope was tied with some cable and It took me another minute to be able to cut it. Daggerfall was very kind and helpful and I want to thank him again.

I am happy I crossed the 5 trips benchmark and am looking forward the upcoming drives which I guess will be faster and more demanding. With such great guidance from the Group leaders I know I will be able to make it on a fun and safe way.

Thanking again the leadership of this fantastic group.

Mquadros

[DustnGlory]

This was a nice drive up to Pink Rock. I was with Booy's convoy with Jock floating and Adam sweeping. We started at 7 on the dot and got back to Al Badayer at 9:30 sharp.

We had some good climbs and descents combined with driving on the wall. In between there was a point where we had to climb the dune and then go in a arc before cresting - this was challenging for few and we had second tries but it was fun to drive and equally fun to watch. There was an instance where I lost the track but thankfully the convoy was nearby and I was quickly able to join back with Adam behind me. At one point the marshall decided that the track we were on was too dangerous so we were escorted back to a safer track. We had a pop out and some recoveries and second tries. Of course any drive is not complete without the white truck getting stuck (beached as Jock put it hidden grin ). The climb up to Pink Rock was fun - this is a first for me.

Overall it was a good drive. We did develop huge gaps between the convoy at places but Jock was quick to call it out and ensure the convoy stays connected. Thanks Daggerfall, Booy, Jock and Adam for the wonderful drive and kudos to all the drivers for making it back safely.

This area had a lot of trash in the desert - plastic bottles, cans and other stuff. Wish people understood the damage they are causing. Is it possible for our club to organize a drive to maybe clear some of the desert trash - doing our part to keep the desert clean? Thinking out loud.....

Until next time,

Jithin AKA DustnGlory