Galaxy V3 - ALL NEWBIE

[Sanadshaikh]

Galaxy V3 10+ = last man standing.

Jokes aside, Saturdays have somewhat become an Almost4X4 ritual - best way to start the weekend!

This trip like the last few had two convoys, 10- led by @alshamsi & 10+ led by @optimus , and supported by @Ehab and @CARLOSS . 10+ took off after a quick briefing, with Optimus slowly amping up the pace, and throwing in a few switches on and off, and some nice & wide climbs. As the drive continued, we lost a few comrades (they are very much alive ) and were left with just 2 - paddy and myself. At this point, a short break was observed, and with just the 2 of us left, Carlos gave us a big , perhaps wondering which one from the two would make it till the end Off we went, the drive changed and Marshall transformed into Optimus Prime, faster, bigger climbs, rpm blaring non stop. While the drive intensified, being under the watchful eyes of Ihab and Carlos made us a lot more confident and safe. Few moments later, a well rounded bowl with a fairly steep climb. 3 attempts later, it was time to call it a day. Thoroughly enjoyed the drive, with many lessons learned - never lose focus, even if you've been performing well for 80 to 90% of the drive, the last moments and minutes are crucially important. Watch, listen, observe, try, listen, try again. Step by step, with every drive and guidance from the seasoned folks, it's amazing what you'll be able to achieve. Never stop learning

A first, being led by Optimus, and this was one for the books Next episode, Friday the 13th....?

[David]

Starting from the usual near the Nahil park location I was assigned to support the 10- convoy with Shamsi leading and Barish as floating Marshall.

In order to not clash with the 10+ convoy we moved slightly to the left to start with and ended up in a small patch that I did not know full with soft sands and complex lines that created problems for the convoy, nice discovery.

Afterwards we moved towards the West doing mainly safari style at a very good pace for the level, convoy did well, only 2 stucks and, most importantly, no pop-outs!!!, happy not to have to take care of those in the heat!!!

As said convoy did well, only one thing I would say from what I could see from my position in the middle, as a "wise man" used to say "hard on the engine, soft on the tires", still some drivers reluctant to push the pedal to the metal requiring afterwards to force tires into going in a direction that is not natural for them, risky as I saw a couple of instances that were very close to a pop-out. Do not be afraid to push your engine, it will not break, this will allow you to treat your tires gently and stay in safe and clean lines.

Many thanks Shamsi for a very enjoyable drive, Barish for the convoy support and everyone that attended for making the drive possible.

See you on the sand soon!!!

[Ehab]

First part of the full day in the desert with temperature reaching 50 degrees, i was assigned to the 10+ convoy with @optimus leading, the area is well known to most drivers and specially 10+ but unfortunately multiple drivers were struggling to keep up and i think it was a record where 60% of the drivers could not complete the drive and had to be escorted

The marshal made sure everyone is safe and kept the drive level to the level which fits all making sure no casualties or major incidents. The coffee and mandi after the drive waiting for the second session was priceless, looking forward toward more of these full day trips.

[CARLOSS]

Hi everyone!

I drove with @Optimus in the +10 level drive along with my mate @Ehab but eventually, I found myself escorting most of the drives to the gatch road (LOL). Next time I won’t drive with the convoy and I will be waiting for departing customers at the exit point underneath a sun shade with some cold drinks

It was insane, only 40% of the convoy made it till the end. Two of them not feeling “well” and another with mechanical problems. For the records, the drive level was more than ok for a 10+ so maybe the heat of that day did not help some of them... Whatever the reason was, they did the right thing as they knew their limits and when to stop and go. Ego was left at home which is the most important thing.

For finalizing, it was a pleasure supporting Optimus and hoping to do that again anytime soon. Meanwhile, I will let @David to support the -10 (LOL)

See you!
Carlos

[brett]

Dear Almosters,
It was a very early alarm for me as I needed 1.5hrs to reach Nahil from my place. I had allowed extra time in case I encountered fog on the way to the meeting point, fortunately there was no fog, but this meant I arrived 30min before the scheduled meeting time.
As the drivers arrived there were many now familiar faces and it was great to see all the intermediates who showed up to support the 10- and 10+ convoys. So it was a full day for many of the intermediates as they were also signed up for the afternoon drive. I initially signed up for both morning and afternoon but my wife reminded me that I should consider spending at least some of the day with her ! I opted for the morning drive and left her happily sleeping until I reached home around lunch time.
The attendance was taken by @optimus and the drivers split into 2 convoys. I was assigned to the 10- convoy led by @alshamsi_m with the support of “The General” @Barish as floating marshal, myself and @David positioned in the convoy for recoveries and @mpodroid assigned as sweeper as he apparently had not yet fully woken up !
My GPS has many many recorded tracks crisscrossing the Nahil dunes so I was pretty sure what to expect from the drive. But as the 10+ convoy headed off in the familiar direction our founder @alshamsi_m made the decision to head off in the opposite direction rather than sit around waiting for the first convoy to get a head start on our track. @alshamsi_m headed in to an area we had never previously entered. Right from the start the terrain was “nasty” with some very oddly shaped dunes, ditches and very soft sand. Within the first 5min “The General” was kept busy giving advice and instructions to the hapless newbies that had been caught completely off guard by the instant terrain challenges they found themselves trying to overcome. multiple 2nd tries and a couple of recoveries.
After this initial “wake up” Call we headed out of the technical terrain, onto the gatch road and without further ado we entered the more familiar area of nice dunes and the ability for the lead car to up the pace for a stimulating safari style drive, small arches and climbs at a pace fast enough to have the 10- newbies adrenaline pumping. Still some work to do for the drivers to gauge the right following distance that ensures the flow of the convoy. Often following to close. But all in all it was a fun drive and I am sure the Newbies learnt some valuable lessons as they continue their journey.
We finished the drive at the scheduled time and headed home with the outside temperature displaying my dash a 51C so summer season is well and truly upon us

[Zoubeir]

It was an extremely early start for me. Having not driven for many months, I found myself excited since the night before - I woke up at 02:30 and couldn't sleep anymore!
I therefore set out earlier than required, to enjoy a nice breakfast and pitstop on the way. That's where I met @brett
Arriving at the meeting point, I was pleased to see a good turnout. The drive started in an extremely tricky area. It was beneficial in terms of car control and navigating soft sands.
The next part of the drive was faster; the dunes opened up and I really enjoyed the arches towards the end. The drive was a success.
Thanks to all marshals and support team for the organization.
Looking forward to the next one!

[BShehzad85]

My first time driving in Nahil, I reached at meeting point an hour early so had enough time to deflate and some chit Chat, I drove with 10- convoy led by @alshamsi, It was a confusing start for me as we could only drive few hundred meters during first 45 minutes, due to extremely soft sand dunes, I thought for a while we may finish at same place, than the drive caught pace, we drove safari style which was fun. I was driving at last numbers so another challenge was to survive while driving through chewed tracks, thanks to Marshal Barish for motivating and Alshamsi and crew for leading and support, while driving home, my FJ showed a temperature of 48C, turned out pretty hot day but had great fun.

[Barish]

Hello everyone,

I would like to start my report with thanks to @optimus as it was supposed to be a 10+ drive, however our organizer decided to extend the drive to our 10- members and made it a bigger event via Galaxy series, one of a unique drive design by our organizer on how to use support efficiently and effectively so that more members from different level can be accomodated in a drive.

We started with warmup of 10- drivers, then started to experience different terrains. Happy to see that all drivers were extremely careful and mindful in those different terrains.

We drive some times on 5+ level and sometimes 5- level and was a good training session challenging the level of our 10- drivers to prepare them for the next level, hence, the gain was big.

At the end, all demonstrated that are willing to chg but by improving.

See you next time.

Barish

[ramiroflores]

I'm new and happy to join!

[alshamsi_m]

Hello everyone

My day started with playing with mud as I approached the meeting point I was lazy to make a long loop so I made a short cut which caused me to have a car wash while others deflating .


There is a beautiful area at the left side of our meeting point with beautiful chain of dunes and . Although I promised the members to do a safari style, but I couldn't resist to surprise them with this hidden gem .

The Drive in the second part was a good fun and all our members did very well .

Thanks @optimus & @Barish for organising and allowing me to lead .

Summer is coming but EID too so see you in the sand

Cheers
Shamsi