All Stars - Limited Edition IV
Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 9:33 am
What a drive that one was ... Barish, with some superhuman power decided to time to perfection the start of the drive so just after the briefing the convoy was hit by a massive sandstorm, plenty of rain, lightening, absolutely gorgeous ... well, until I came out of the car to assist with a recovery and got soaked in seconds ... but let's start from the beginning.
Al Faqaa area, on the AD side, good attendance, 2 convoys, + and - 10. +10 with Presa and Solmaz, I was allocated to the -10 lead by Shamsi, additional Marshalls Barish and Rashid. Mahmood Yasin as "floating" support with Jasper, Sorin and myself positioned inside the convoy and Tom in the stolen big red truck closing the convoy.
Conditions were not easy to start with, very poor visibility that easily leads to one of the most important lessons with offroading, keep the right DISTANCE in between cars. You will always have to adjust the distance between cars depending on the conditions, terrain, speed, ... you need enough space to be "safe" but at the same time you need to be able to see what the car in front of you is doing. Little piece of advice for those Newbies that might read this, use the flat areas to catch up with the car in front of you after clearing a bigger dune/obstacle, this is important both for your safety and to allow the convoy to flow with ease.
Shamsi used easy tracks on the first sector to compensate for the difficult conditions due to the storm, not many incidents, luckily, I came out of the car for one of them (glad I always keep the sand googles in the car at all times) and I got sand and rain everywhere, enjoyable though, I guess one of those things that annoyed you back home where it rains all the time but you find enjoyable since living in the UAE ...
Once we crossed the road and the visibility improved the convoy approached some more complex obstacles, straight crest and drops, generally good performance, just remember, yes, you do not want to get stuck but at the same time if too fast you fly over ... (saw a couple of cars crossing with a bit too much speed), another trade to learn, the ideal situation is that you cross but just with the minimum speed needed, remember, newbies are supposed to get stuck so do not worry, there is no shame on it.
I do love the dessert, mainly at sunset, there is only one scenario that beats sunset in the desert, and that is sunset in the desert after a sand/rain storm ... I have been lucky enough to be there a few times and it is breathtaking, the colors are so unique, absolutely love it, it was the same yesterday, those 10/15 min at the end of the drive were amazing, I would turn at every possible moment to look at the sun (mainly on our backs).
First time driving with the new newbies after the last CM, welcome to the Almost family, looking forward to many more drives together, last piece of advice, be patient, trust the Marshalls and you won't believe how much your driving skills will improve and the amount of fun you will have!!!
See you on the sand soon.
Al Faqaa area, on the AD side, good attendance, 2 convoys, + and - 10. +10 with Presa and Solmaz, I was allocated to the -10 lead by Shamsi, additional Marshalls Barish and Rashid. Mahmood Yasin as "floating" support with Jasper, Sorin and myself positioned inside the convoy and Tom in the stolen big red truck closing the convoy.
Conditions were not easy to start with, very poor visibility that easily leads to one of the most important lessons with offroading, keep the right DISTANCE in between cars. You will always have to adjust the distance between cars depending on the conditions, terrain, speed, ... you need enough space to be "safe" but at the same time you need to be able to see what the car in front of you is doing. Little piece of advice for those Newbies that might read this, use the flat areas to catch up with the car in front of you after clearing a bigger dune/obstacle, this is important both for your safety and to allow the convoy to flow with ease.
Shamsi used easy tracks on the first sector to compensate for the difficult conditions due to the storm, not many incidents, luckily, I came out of the car for one of them (glad I always keep the sand googles in the car at all times) and I got sand and rain everywhere, enjoyable though, I guess one of those things that annoyed you back home where it rains all the time but you find enjoyable since living in the UAE ...
Once we crossed the road and the visibility improved the convoy approached some more complex obstacles, straight crest and drops, generally good performance, just remember, yes, you do not want to get stuck but at the same time if too fast you fly over ... (saw a couple of cars crossing with a bit too much speed), another trade to learn, the ideal situation is that you cross but just with the minimum speed needed, remember, newbies are supposed to get stuck so do not worry, there is no shame on it.
I do love the dessert, mainly at sunset, there is only one scenario that beats sunset in the desert, and that is sunset in the desert after a sand/rain storm ... I have been lucky enough to be there a few times and it is breathtaking, the colors are so unique, absolutely love it, it was the same yesterday, those 10/15 min at the end of the drive were amazing, I would turn at every possible moment to look at the sun (mainly on our backs).
First time driving with the new newbies after the last CM, welcome to the Almost family, looking forward to many more drives together, last piece of advice, be patient, trust the Marshalls and you won't believe how much your driving skills will improve and the amount of fun you will have!!!
See you on the sand soon.