Almost4x4

Newbie All in V7:

A 3 convoy strong drive on a Friday afternoon brought a lot of almosters together for once again.

The meeting point was once more flooded with drivers kids and passengers ready to enjoy the afternoon drive. The weather for one more time was to our favor and we were all exited to enjoy the cool afternoon.

Our Organizer [mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] after taken attendance he divided the drivers in 3 convoys with [mention]Booy[/mention] [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] and @dagger been the Marshall leaders of the 3 convoys.

I was placed on @Rashidjass convoy in the convoy somewhere in the first part.

The drive started slow on an easy track giving the opportunity to the drivers to warm up.

I would say that the drive has two parts, first half was the easy part followed by the second half where the level was increased enough to challenge the drivers and expose their shortfalls and weaknesses.

On the first part we had some second tries and couple of recoveries but over all it was a smooth drive on an enjoyable slow paste.

Passing under 66 the second part of the drive started. This is an area that it is more challenging as it is an egg basket area and it demands bigger distance and constant communication from the drivers.

This is where some of the drivers lost focus and the convoy fell in trouble. Several second tries and more than few stucks including a pop out slow down the flow of the convoy resulting to a total of 1 hour delay to reach out final destination.

As mentioned earlier the second part exposed the weaknesses of the drivers. The following points are to be considered as lessons learned:

Poor radio communication: Most of the drivers were not communicating their second tries. Failing to call in your second attempted brings confusion to the drivers following you. When a drivers hears on the radio that there is a second try he/she automatically feels the need to slow down and prepare to stop. He\she has the chance to study the terrain and decide where it will be easier and more safe to stop. When the driver does not call the failed attempt then the rest of the convoy keeps driving to the point that several cars will come to a sudden stop, something that is not an easy thing to do in an area such the one we were driving. So it is important for all drivers to call in their second tries immediately when it happens.

Proper throttle control: Another important element for a successful smooth drive is mastering the throttle control. Been able to read the upcoming climb, decent, turn and in what speed you will need to bring your vehicle to be able to tackle the obstacle is one of the things that we all need to keep practicing and keep improving. Luck of delivering such ability brought the convoy on the Friday's drive to several second attempts and tries.

Among the above mentioned issues I also noticed drivers having their radio attached to their steering something that is far of practical and safe, as well as having their radio antenna removed claiming that it is more convenient. Please remember removing the antenna you reduce the receiving transmitting abilities of the radio and it unable your communication with the rest of the convoy.

The convoy end up reaching the final destination safe and sound thanks to our lead Marshall's efforts to navigate through challenging terrain finding the suitable route that all drivers following will be able to tackle.

I will here close my report thanking all participants rescue organizer and lead for the nice drive.

Until next time drive safe.

Hello everyone,

We had a good turn out for the all Newbie drive. The plan for this drive is to get all the newbie members to drive together on a fairly easy track, for all members to get to know each other.

The convoys were split up and no preference was given to the amount of drives - a real mix of experience in every convoy.

Our convoy did well, and we had the opportunity to fix a pop out right at the beginning of the drive - some members have not seen how this is done, so it was good training too.

After the drive we enjoyed tea, coffee, and very good company together. The weather was great and perfect to sit down in the desert and relax while chatting to old and new members.

I am looking forward to seeing you on the next drive.

Regards,

Booy

Hi everyone,

I arrived more than 30 minutes before meeting time and I was not even the first one... Psmiley
I love this unique spirit of excitement, commitment and happiness before our drives, especially if we have three fully booked convoys with drivers of all levels. in love

After the usual chit chat, car preps and selfies with some curious camels, our convoy started, I drove behind [mention]Booy[/mention] as second lead. Shortly after the start we had a car falling in an unexpected ditch, causing a pop out.
It was a good lecture for everyone how to fix a pop out fast and easy. And as you can see, pop outs happen to the best drivers, its desert so anything can happen and you can never be sure what is waiting behind the next dune.

We continued the drive, most of the time the drive was smooth, just interrupted from a few second tries.

The track had small dunes and some technical areas, in between flat grounds where we usually drive "Rallye Style", which means we go with 100 or more kmh, which is super fun. I reached 130 kmh in the sabkha, having a short panic-moment when I saw an orange light in my dashboard. But it was not the engine light, its was the over-120-sign grin

Perfectly on time to enjoy the view in beautiful sunset light, we arrived at our sitting area. Some of us sat together for around 2 hours, enjoying coffee and tea.

Some reminders (and I include myself, as I sometimes forget it too)
- proper distance is important. If you are too close you might get in trouble if the car in front of you struggles. If you are too far away, you might loose the track.
- keep an eye on the car in front of you, the cars movements will give you a hint how to overcome an obstacle safely
- keep also an eye on the car behind you, if you can not see it, report via radio, maybe he/she lost track or is in trouble.
- if you have a second try or stuck, report immediately via radio, so the car behind you can react and the convoy can stop and wait/help.

I had a great time, I hope all of you too in love

Thanks all for the drive, have a great week ahead and see you all soon have a nice day

Another great day with our club...

i was with Booy's convoy driving in the middle of the convoy so i had the chance to see almost everything happening and practice some recoveries. Generally, the newbies did well. we had a number of second tries and one crested car.

i have a little advice for our new joined members: DONT FEEL SHY TO ASK QUESTIONS ! we have a lot of experienced marshals and drivers who can assist you and tell you how to do things based on long experiences.

ooh and another advice too, if you are new to offroading and you feel that you are still not confident enough, do not bring passengers with you ! passengers can have a negative impact on your learning experience. they can put extra pressure on you and make you uncomfortable.

thanks to all our marshals and support members for making this mega drive.

see you soon !

Another great day out in the desert. Gained some more experience and learnt some more things. Saw a few rescues and a pop out. Had a couple of second tries myself this time whereas I hadn't in any previous drives. Maybe I was getting over confident! Anyway, thanks again to all you organisers, marshalls etc. I really appreciate all of you giving up your time to lead us out on these trips.

Hey Almosters,

After several weeks of Solos, All leads, and drives with frequent rescue, it was welcoming to have a chill drive where the main purpose was for all of us to get together. thumbsup

I was in [mention]Booy[/mention] convoy with a mix of newbies, [mention]Johanna[/mention] as second lead, [mention]Mohanad[/mention] with me in the middle and [mention]alshamsi_m[/mention] floating.

Radio communication was good but there were a few times where second tries were not called. It's important to keep the lead updated so he/she can adjust the pace accordingly.

But I think the main issue we had was distance, we had both cases of distance too short or too far. At one point we lost the track because we could no longer see the car infront. It becomes really crucial in 10+ and above drives so practise practise practise till its perfect! ORLY

One interesting moment of the drive was when a para-glider decided to drop very low and fly over the convoy. He gave a whole new meaning to floating marshal. XD

We made it to the end point almost on time, and got a glimpse of the red sunset.
Overall it was a nice relaxing drive that helped destress after a long week of work! in love


See you all soon. pacman

Hi all, it was a super nice afternoon in the desert. I arrived one hour earlier but it was nice to spend time and chatting about cars with some members. I was in the convoy led by [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] with the great support of [mention]Barish[/mention] .

It was a mixed experience convoy which made things interesting. I believe the more junior members can learn from the senior and the senior, by watching the juniors, remembers the progresses they made and can now spot what is right and what is wrong.

In the second half, more technical, we had some second tries and a couple of pulled cars but we reached the sitting point ahead of time and ahead of the other two convoys.

Thanks to Almost4by4 for another great afternoon.

Kind regards
Sostick

I was early at the meeting point, but there were already a few cars there. We went through the drills as usual & more cars joined us, there were a lot of new faces & old faces grin .

There were a herd of curious camels that came to say hallo.

[mention]Abu Jimmy[/mention] called us together for the briefing & we were dealt into 3 convoys, mix & match from a newbie doing his first drive to others with many drives have a nice day . I was in the convoy with [mention]Booy[/mention] & was given the task as sweeper. There were 13 in the convoy with #14 sweeping [mention]alshamsi[/mention] .

Just after a short while [mention]alshamsi[/mention] had a pop out, but first had to be recovered from a sticky situation. We all moved closer for the new drivers to see how a pop out is fixed. There was a Prado ahead of me which climbed the dune to eager & ended up with some front bumper damage which I saw later. What I did saw was the dune taking a big bite out of his rear bumper. Dune 1, Prado 0 grin . [mention]alshamsi[/mention] explained how to fix the pop out & it was not long before we were back on the track again. [mention]zico[/mention] joined our convoy with his wife driving & he asked me to look after her, [mention]alshamsi[/mention] commented that if I bump a founder I will loose my one & only star O_O .

We continued with the track & the flow was really not bad taking into consideration that some place the track was a bit technical. @Zico s wife got a bit crested with the right back wheel high in the air @alshamsi said that if I rescue a founder I will get a rescue tag have a nice day. I jumped out of my car to help, but @Zico got in behind the wheel, I got onto the sidestep to give a bit off weight to the car, it helped a bit, but I do not think that I rescued them grin . We continued on with track & caught up with the rest of the convoy. When we reached Inflight Dubai, they pulled out of the convoy & we continued on to the sit down area.

The next section was a bit more technical, but still the going was good without any serious issues. A Fj lost his flag & was placed behind me in the convoy. The sun was setting & @Booy made a "straight" line to the sit down area. We got there just as the sun was setting, there was already one convoy & a bit later we saw the last convoy heading our way.

It was a nice relaxed, but I believe if you drive the same track faster it will be a different story. It was a nice big turnout with lots of new faces.

Thank you to @Abu Jimmy for organising the drive & all the other marshalls, inters & crew looking after us thumbsup .

Till we meet again in the sand, take care.

Greeting
Rooies

Hello Everyone

I was from the last group that entered the desert and left at night. It was a great day with mix of everything. Unfortunately, most members left the drive directly and they missed a lot. Having a day in the desert is a remedy treatment so don't take the driving part only because you can learn offroading anywhere but having a great company is priceless.

We have two parts in our club, the driving or surviving skills and the social part each one will give you more than what you think. Today my focus is on the social where you are going to make friends, ask the marshals for your inquiries and have a different day than the rest of the days of the week.

We were enjoying the breeze until the rain sent us in a hurry to go home. another memorable weekend and thank you all for making it happen.

Cheers

It was a nice technical area, to polish the skills and drivers getting to know your cars limits and strenghts. But it is that difficult to float as well in this kind of an area. Better to stay in the convoy.

There were a couple of second tries and recoveries. Rather than that all drivers did very well. We had a couple of good self recoveries as well.

Thanks to [mention]Daggerfall[/mention] for the lead, support team for assistance and all the drivers for making the day a success.

Improvement is the driver for the change; change without improvement means a car without a driver.

Barish