Almost4x4

Hello Guys,

Even before reaching the meeting point, I met Brett, Eihab, Hisham, and Sid at the fuel station.
I reached the meeting point at 3pm, and it was extremely hot. I immediately deflated all the tires to 8 PSI and attached my flag.

One by one, many cars arrived, and towards the end, I noticed the tiny Jimny driven by the founder himself.

There was a briefing given by Shamsi, who also gave us a last chance to run away if we were worried about our cars. No one moved.

At the start of the drive, my PSI was at 10, and right from the beginning it was crazy! I was the third car when we set off, and until the first stop, I managed to follow the lead car.

After that, I was directly behind Shamsi and got stuck on a cliff, needing a rope recovery. This was the first-ever rope recovery for me, done skillfully by Mr. Mghoneim. Luckily, I had recently bought my Viking rope, and it came in handy. Big thanks to Mr. Mghoneim for the recovery.

The terrain was very technical—I saw cars getting stuck, popping out, and recoveries happening everywhere.

My car was taking hits on the bumper and skid plate almost constantly, but luckily nothing broke.

Overall, the drive was crazy—I had never experienced anything like this before. One recovery and two second attempts for me in the whole drive. In fact, I was expecting more and even thought I might get a pop-out.

Special thanks to Mr. Shamsi for organizing such a great drive, and to Eihab, Carlo, David, Rashid, for constantly watching over us. Also, big thanks to Brett, Mghoneim, Moustafa, Nidal, Paddy, Hisham and Vika for their support in carrying the convoy successfully.

Completely worth it! Looking forward to the next drive!

First drive for me in a couple of months after work, vacation. Great to catch up with the sand family.

Having done Friday the 13th last year knew this was going to be tough on the car and body.

Within 5 min I'm straight crested, quick pull by vika and I was back in the game. Managed to stay 2nd lead for quite a while, not an easy task following a jimny driven by the founder with bad intentions.

Next incident was a pit of doom, first try just didn't quite have the momentum and the soft sand swallowed me. Looked round and nomi is in the pit with me and a 3rd car about to enter. Quick Holla over the radio and 3rd car stopped before getting into the pit . After couple of attempts managed to get out only to get stuck directly in a nasty ditch. My bad too focused on the escape missed the very sharp left turn. Front wheel was about a metre in the air, Shamsi sat at the bottom watching the chaos unfold he caused. Nice hard pull from the viking and I was free.

We stopped for a while whilst the rest of the convoy was getting stuck/rescued. Moustafa got out the legendary iced watermelon, refreshing and always thankful for this.

We didn't finish the full track and previous record not beaten. Some was saying Shamsi was being kind and took it easy. I disagree we didn't finish the track like previous year so it was actually tougher, some of the obstacles nastier too making the recoveries more challenging and lengthy

Fun day in the sand and always a pleasure to catch up with the sand family

F13 is always fun and Shamsi driving the "little thing" delivered.

Very enjoyable drive even for those that were challenged the most.

A few comments/notes if I may:

- Most of the stucks/issues came in straight crests, to be honest I was surprised by this, it is a type of obstacle that Newbies at this level should be very used to and be able to overcome with ease, I know that the "overtaking rule" makes it harder since this forces you to make a new "break" in the crest but still. It might not look so important but when you move up a level in some cases you need to do a straight crest to get out of a complicated situation, and you must do it safely since it might not be easy to recover "at that height".
- Personally, and despite of all of the stucks, I only saw one dangerous move, in a straight crest that the driver overshoot ending with the 2 rear wheels up on the air, not good, better to get stuck 100 times and have 1000 2nd tries that this.
- Most drivers had a very bumpy ride, try to read the terrain, the leading car got you on purpose in an area full of bushes with hard climbs, you need to control better the momentum to still make the climbs but negotiating the approach in the safest possible way.
- I am a firm believer that you learn the most when you are out of your comfort zone, in that sense I think that everyone in the convoy enjoyed it and learnt safely which is the aim of what we do.
- More F13 type of drives should be organised, I think most people would agree it was fun (even for the supporting Team that worked extremely hard) and learnt from it.

Finally, many thanks to everyone that attended the event, starting with Shamsi for arranging the drive and leading, Rashid and the other explorers that supported, the intermediates that took care of the convoy and recoveries so nicely and of course, all of the drivers that challenged themselves in order to become a better offroader.

See you on the sand soon.

Hi everyone,

Another Friday the 13th another day at the office

I believe that this is one of the rare occasions in which you can see Shamsi a bit mercifulness with our newbie members as normally it is the contrary. And for the interm and support members, this is like music to our ears

As expected, tons of stucks and second tries but surprisingly, only a pop out recorded in my head. Thanks God we had the presence of Ahmed who did most of the work by himself.

I recall previous F13 more challenging than this one, with plenty of soft sand and many more recoveries which was not the case last Saturday. Tricky area indeed, bushy but not too many soft sand patches…maybe that’s the reason why.

Worth mentioning the “bowl of death” that caught most of our members while Shamsi with some survivors’ company were watching the show & having fun from the distance.

Also interesting to witness the F13 from a different position, floating and assessing the situation for better supporting the convoy. A learning day for me too.

Last but not least, we were given the opportunity to rescue a few young local guys completely doomed for hours in an small car…they look at the 3 FJs approaching them with plenty of lights like a divine revelation coming from the sky.

Thanks @alshamsi_m for organizing and leading, @Rashidjass for taking care of the convoy, @Ehab and @David for making sure that recoveries were done properly and interm, who sweated a lot yesterday.

All in all, a very good time spent in Tital Sweihan accompanied by magnificent people.

See you

Trip Report – Friday 13th

Hello everyone!

Friday13th drives always have their own special flavor, and this one proved it once again. From the briefing onwards, it was clear that this was not going to be an easy “warm-up” run. In fact, within the first five minutes, several cars were already perfectly parked on straight crests, as if we were staging a group photo. Recoveries started immediately, so there was zero chance of getting bored.

Straight crests quickly became the stars of the day. Who knew such a “basic” obstacle could create so much drama? One after another, drivers lined up to take their shot, and one after another, the crests claimed their victories. On the bright side, everyone got a ton of practice. On the not-so-bright side, the desert looked more like a recovery bootcamp than a regular drive.

The terrain itself was not a joke either. Cars bounced like wild camels at times, and keeping momentum under control was easier said than done. Still, that was the beauty of the route — it forced everyone to step outside their comfort zone and really sharpen their skills.

From my side, as an Intermediate, I was happy to help with recoveries and support. And trust me, there was plenty to do. But that’s what makes these drives special: teamwork, learning, laughter, and the satisfaction of overcoming challenges together.

So yes, it was messy. Yes, it was demanding. And yes, it was absolutely fun. Everyone went home with more experience, more confidence, and plenty of stories (plus maybe a few scratches on cars and egos).

A huge thanks to @alshamsi_m for arranging and leading, to @rashid and the Explorers @David , @CARLOSS , @Ehab for guiding and keeping the convoy in one piece, my fellow Intermediates for the endless rope-pulling and shovel work, and of course to all the drivers who made this Friday 13th such an entertaining and memorable adventure.

Till the next chaos!
Viktoriia

Hello everyone,

Ufff where to start, there is always so much happening in Friday the 13th drive.

So we started off with the drive and got the first victim down within first 10 minutes of the drive which started the dominos effect with other victims falling down at the same spot and parking next to each other lol.

For me it was a good drive as I managed not to get crested throughout the drive and manage to come out in 1 piece.

We drove through the bumper shaver area, managed to keep my bumpers on as well. A lot of other victims got stuck at various points along with couple of 2nd tries.

The route which Shamsi takes lets everyone knows that its not the car its the driver statement.

Did not completed the whole obstacle, but still it was a lot of fun special thanks to @alshamsi_m for arranging the drive.

Special thanks to other marshals @Rashidjass , explorers @David @CARLOSS and support crew for their help and efforts recovering the victims.

Looking forward to have part 2 of the Friday the 13th drive soon @alshamsi_m

Cheers

Hi Almosters

What an amazing event where learning and having fun are combined safely and all drivers from all levels enjoyed it.

The area is moderately difficult and considerably technical but it's easier than the usual F13 area.

Very few incidents, many stucks and recoveries but most importantly everyone was safe and left with a smile on their faces.

Looking forward to meeting all this weekend.

Regards

Too excited for Friday the 13th! Last year’s drive was full of fun, and we were looking forward to even more enjoyment this year hoping the summer heat has gone. All the “victims” gathered at the meeting point where our founder, @alshamsi_m , gave the trip briefing and explained the rules — including allowing overtaking to keep the flow smooth.
We barely started the drive when the first stucks began, but the intermediates jumped in with great support. The area was very technical, yet everyone managed really well. Compared to last year, this drive felt completely different — almost like following a track through a highly technical terrain.
The supporting marshals did an excellent job managing the chaos and keeping things under control, ensuring safety while maintaining the fun. Toward the end of the trip, our founder @alshamsi_m put it to a vote whether we should wrap up or continue, and most of us chose to keep going and squeeze out a bit more adventure.
A big thank you to our founder, @alshamsi_m , and to all the marshals and intermediates for making it another memorable Friday 13th!

Dear Almosters

The day started off nicely with the All Blacks beating Australia (as usual), but I digress this is a drive report not a rugby commentary.
There was a large group of keen Newbies for the drive and a great number of intermediates there for support.

The Briefing was done by our founder @alshamsi_m who explained the 'rules' of the drive - All Newbies at the front, with Intermediates following to assist with recoveries when needed.

How hard could it be to follow a harmless little Jimny in the same area of the desert where the family friendly Gulf News Fund Drive takes place ??

Within the first minutes of the drive the stage was set,
The rule being if someone gets stuck then the following cars take 2 - 3 mtrs to the side and pass the stuck car.
4 or 5 cars then all crested beside each other due to the soft sand and no doubt a fair dose of early adrenaline. Once this first obstacle was cleared the convoy progressed further, albeit at a start stop pace while stuck cars were recovered and the convoy reconnected.

A big shout out to the hovering marshal @Rashidjass and the Explorers @David @CARLOSS and @Ehab for their guidance and instuctions keeping everyone safe.

The intermediates were also kept busy retrieving the crested and stuck cars and that one popout. Some intermediates were busier than others depending on who is telling the story - but thanks to everyone for the hard work @AhmadHasan @Aljamhi @Vika @Giovanni @Mghoneim @mpodroid @Hisham
The Media Crew were also out in full force to capture those forgettable moments @nidal78 and of course the Tour Guide for the newly wed passengers @Moustafa snapping action shots from all angles .

For the record I did not help with any recoveries i just stayed toward the back of the convoy and enjoyed watching the mayhem unfold.

That last bowl with its drop and climb really took its toll on the tired newbies - by that time they had really been put to the test by @alshamsi_m.

There are more challenges to come Newbies - watch out for Catch Me IF you Can ! Eggs in the Basket, GPS Challenge and many more fun adventures in the desert.

And don't forget to register for the Meat & Greet Event and camp on 7/11/25
Come and showoff your Braai, BBQ skills, all challengers are welcome - who will be crowned champion this year ????

Hi Almosters,,,
This was my second time joining the F13, and while the terrain may have been familiar, the experience felt entirely new.
This year, I came with a refreshed mindset—not to compete or prove anything, but simply to enjoy the day with my sand family.
It wasn’t about skill or challenge; it was about happiness, laughter, and shared moments.
Thanks @alshamsi_m for the amazing day.
Thanks @Rashidjass for your instructions & @David @CARLOSS and @Ehab for your support.
Thanks for the rescue team @Mghoneim, @Vika, @AhmadHasan, @Aljamhi, @Moustafa, @Giovanni, @mpodroid, @Hisham, @brett
See you all in the sand.