Friday 13 - The Fury Desert

[Sanadshaikh]

Friday 13 lived up to its name and beyond!

After signing up for the drive, I started reading previous trip reports and watched some of the videos, at this point I was questioning my decision. Glad I decided march on and join the 'victims list' - it's one of those drives that you absolutely need, not just to learn, progress and move forward, but at times relearn what you think you already know, in a new kind of chaos.

Weather was unforgiving, drivers list was long, excitement was high, and so was some amout of fear. A massive shout out @alshamsi_m for organising this one-of-a kind trip and the support team comprising of advance, old intermediates and new intermediates, @CARLOSS @brett @Ehab @Mghoneim @Ely @Moustafa19 Ahmed2dxb Aljamhi @Rooies @orlantsev @mpodroid @nidal.a-l-salti @galindakis @Giovanni who despite of harsh conditions were present to keep watch and rescue the newbies, and boy there were toooo many resques! I don't recall seeing so many support members in a single drive!

Briefing was...well..brief, concise and underscored the need to overtake 3mtrs either side should a car in front be stuck. Something that newbies aren't used to, but must adhere to. Off we went and within the first few minutes, we got a sneak peak of what was to come. A very technical track, sharp turns, drops, climbs, bushes, soft sand, multiple tracks and all the works. Radio was blaring with 'I'm stuck, help, where is the track, I think I'm lost, stop!, watch out!', we lost the convoy, follow me!' etc. Handful of us were labelled as cheaters of veering off track :(
The overtaking bit sounded easy in theory but was challenging in practice, as we had to figure an alternative track to move forward, in most cases support team helped with callouts. Although a very technical drive, I felt a much better understanding of the cars physics amongst many other things. On few occasions it was challenging yet educational to figure the way by following tracks, and not a car in front.

Phew! What a day, what a drive! ll I can say is that I'm glad to have experienced this.

[Spyda]

This mornings drive our founder had announced beforehand he was bringing the jimny. This had me thinking what has he got in store for us as I had heard stories about this infamous jimny and what it does to people who follow it.
As soon as we hit the dunes a very tight and technical course was laid down for us to follow and the chaos started. Cars getting stuck all over the place and in multiples lol, the brief briefing we was told to pass stuck cars which is something I had not done before usually we are instructed to wait whilst the stuck car is rescued. I did this on a few occasions and at one point ended up crested alongside the car that I was passing already stuck.
The drive required quick decision making, steering inputs and throttle control to navigate the very soft and tight track. Managed to get stuck four times requiring a rope recoveries from our intermediate and advanced level support crew that were kept very busy herding us newbies back on track. Headcount of victims must have been in excess of 30 I would say including some of the intermediates getting stuck.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable morning on the sand which I survived and live to tell the tale.

Many thanks to the club, Marshalls and founder for arranging these great events. Taking the time to teach us how to drive in the sand correctly. Many thanks also to the intermediates,advanced and crew there to rescue and support us.
Reached my 10th drive today so now eligible for 10+ drives which I know the Marshalls start to turn up the spiciness to set us on the path for the next level of intermediate. Very much looking forward to the next drive with this great club, until next time .......

[Mghoneim]

Fellow Almosters,

Coming to the my second edition of F13, however the first one in EIB area. I have already done 2 EIBs so I am familiar with the area and how to navigate around it. The meeting point with full of different emotions , which were all clear on the challenger's faces.

The briefing was done by our founder and organizer @alshamsi_m , assigning challengers to the front of the convoy , new interms to the middle and old interms to the back of the convoy. The convoy was 22 cars in total and we were aiming to break the F13 record of 22 stucks. I though its a bit challenging , however a new high was recorded after the first hour.

"Convoy Moving" we drove slowly towards the area and then the fun began. There were too many thing to mention here, but to conclude it there were moments were all intermediates and advanced members busy with recoveries. I think we easily reached 30 recoveries, of which I recovered 5.

I would say many members did a great job as I had a lot of returning customers. However, radio communication was a bit messy, too many unreported situations that were only announced by Advanced members.

We moved from EIB area to area 2 , were some other interesting stucks /recoveries took place. Then we headed out.

Big thanks for @alshamsi_m for the organization

and to advanced & intermediate members for their support.

[Hisham]

Despite posts and videos about the drive posted days before the drive, thought it will be fun, and found, yes i was correct. Thank you Abu Salem @alshamsi_m for organizing the drive, which I heard a lot about it, and was really fun, challenging and a good learning session. Quick briefing, and all lined up to start the adventure. As soon as started, with a very technical area, fast pace and long convoy, it is expected to have stucks and refusals, which part of the fun. Very grateful for our support team, who was always ready and available to help. @brett @carloss @ehab @mghoneim @galindakis @giovanni @nida78 @orlantsev @piotr @rooies (apologies if I missed other names). At some stage of the drive, found my self a second lead . Decided to follow and copy exactly what is lead doing, and it worked... Great to meet new faces, and look forward for more drives and meet all members. Thanks you again Abu Salem and all.
Nice weekend
Regards
Hisham

[brett]

Dear Almosters,
Friday the 13th Drive but held on Saturday 22nd. This is one of the drives that every member should try and take part in as a newbie.
Ok so it wasn’t the 13th but what does that matter, originally the drive was announced as an afternoon drive, but for some reason it was changed to morning event. For that we should be grateful as it was already 35C + at the start time of 730am – already very hot conditions for this type of drive.
Our Founder @alshamsi_m who organized the drive – showed up in the Jimny, resulting in some surprised newbie faces. The rules of the drive were explained – Newbies at the front, I was appointed sweeper of the newbies – the idea being, as it was last man standing rule – meaning if the driver in front got stuck the rest of the convoy would pass and the stuck driver would be assisted by the following intermediates – once they were recovered they would make their way back to the convoy (ahead of me as sweeper).
All sounds simple enough ! so off we went, with a fast paced drive to the EIB area, so far so good.
Then we entered the technical area and instantly chaos ensued. Newbies were challenged and stuck all over the place ! the fairly straight forward rules – after recovery resume place in the convoy the theory was good – the implementation not so.
Radio was constant – I am stuck, intermediate come to front to do recovery, I lost the track, HELP !.
So after eventually clearing the tight technical dunes of Area 1 we moved back to the flat area where the convoy positions were changed – now the new intermediates would follow the lead car (only a little Jimny, how hard can that be to follow!!) then newbies, then me as sweeper, then the older intermediates to sweep up the carnage as it happened.
Area 2 was certainly more open with bigger dunes, but when following the Jimny !! again Chaos! we had 2nd tries, stucks, popouts, lost track, poor radio communication etc etc.
But by 1030am sharp we somehow managed to make it to the end. Hats off to everyone who accepted the challenge, all cars made it back safe, mostly with all plastic parts in place (some with the help of Duct tape and zip ties) all captured on video by our floating media team – Thanks to @Ehab , Camera man @nidal78 , @mpodroid
Huge shout out to the intermediate and advanced drivers who willingly braved the sweltering heat to assist in keeping our newbies safe @CARLOSS , @orlantsev , @Giovanni , @Mghoneim, , @AhmadHasan @Aljamhi , @Ely , @Rooies , @galindakis @Moustafa19, @piotr
Now looking forward to the next High Heat Challenge Eggs In Basket !! get ready Newbies

[AhmadHasan]

Thanks @alshamsi_m for organizing the drive.. it was full of fun. i was very lucky having @Ahmad Mafia as passenger, who did very well in stabilizing my car and my craziness

the drive starts with quick brief, i recall some Bu Salim words " in this drive you will different type of persons, one who will get stuck and recovered normal scenario, second who would insist not to stuck and he will damage his car eventually. " the whole idea of the drive is learn how to control your car if you in a very technical area and just enjoy the fun. also, this kind of game will teach how to leave the personal ego at home or leave your car in bad situation in desert.
intermediates and advance did an amazing job in helping the drivers.

it was extremely hot day, though we enjoyed every second of it. btw, who ever wondering as of now.. i got stuck. i think mine was counted as 25th. Thanks Bu Saud for your help and getting the rope from the car you did very well in stabilizing my car from flying

at the end thanks for all the drivers and the reader for my post.

please dont leave the post without pressing on

see you all next time on sand

[orlantsev]

Hello all,

I have not been driving much lately, so when opportunity came up I eagerly registered for the drive.

I thought that the location would be same as last year (i.e. closer to me in Sweihan), but after I entered coordinates on Friday night I realized it was almost 2 hours drive to the meeting point. When I got to the car on Saturday morning it became even longer due to foggy conditions. My desire to witness the massacre was so high that I did not think of retreating.

The drive lived to everybody expectations. Within minutes it was impossible to see the convoy structure as cars were spread out everywhere. I guess at any given time there were 2-3 recoveries happening in parallel. In this hot weather I always hope for self-recoveries. It worked on few occasions, but 2 times I still had to do the pull.

I think most people like big dunes, speed, but these technical areas have their own charm and is pretty close to other types of off - roading which is available in other regions. Also the way to and from big dunes mostly goes through technical areas, so the skill navigating these small soft areas will come very useful.

[galindakis]

Greetings fellow off-roaders,

I’m excited to share a brief recap of our recent drive, "Friday 13th." Upon arriving, I realized I had forgotten my normal flag. A big thanks to Piotr for lending a hand.

I was positioned towards the end of the convoy, and as soon as we hit Area 1, it was absolute carnage. Area 2 proved to be just as challenging, adding to the thrill of the day.

After a long pause due to work and competitions, it was fantastic to get back behind the wheel and tackle these tough terrains. I conducted 6 recoveries so I think we were way above the 30 in total.
Thanks to Shamsi for organizing this event and to all participants specially the rescue and support team Brett, Carlos, Ehab, Giovanni, Mghoneim, Marco, Nidal, Orlantsev, Piotr and Rooies
See you in the sand,

[Ely]

Object: battlefield report
Battle name : Friday 13th
Code name : fury desert
Year : 2024, June 22nd
Place: area 13

Subject : Ely, Jimny patroller
Years in service : 10 months
Matriculation: 118945

Detailed report :
As I rolled down the window under the scorching sun, the desert stretched out before us like a war-torn battlefield. Half of our convoy fell to the merciless terrain within the first hour under the commandment of Bu Salem driving his secret weapon. Even our Allies were shaking at the view of it. I could hear the desperate cries, the crunch of metal, and the roar of engines battling the relentless sun. The faces of my fellow comrades betrayed a mix of fear and determination as we pressed on, the air thick with sweat and the scent of impending danger.
Our rescue team was overwhelmed by the chaos, each dune crest claiming its victims and every sharp turn leading to treacherous ditches, where even the slightest misstep meant disaster. Never in my tenure as an Almoster had I felt so helpless, forced to contemplate the unfolding carnage in grim silence.

That time, I was part of the Jimny battalion with my mate, prepared for whatever lay ahead. We knew the odds were against us, unsure if we'd live to see another day. We fought valiantly, navigating through the enemy's obstacles, smashing the blistering dunes.
But then, we stumbled upon a minefield, a treacherous trap that nearly sealed our fate. It was surreal to think that such a small thing could determine our destiny. Despite our best efforts to conquer the shifting sands, we had to call for rescue. Thankfully, Mpdroid dispatch responded swiftly to our distress call.
And so, I joined the ranks of countless others who became victims of that tragic battle on Friday the 13th.

————-///—————///—————////—————///————-

Dear fellows Almosters,

Friday 13th is a phenomenal drive ! I now, understand why it is so iconic !!

As I am thinking of all future members that might read that post, I’d rather keep it a mystery… go and see for yourself ! Thanks to this drive you will get rid of all excess and unnecessary features. Learn to travel lighter and to see that smaller is actually greater ! You will experience not to fear the destination but rather the journey! What a thrilling experience to not miss!

On that note I would like to
- cheer up all our brave newbies who displayed unconditional resilience throughout that drive ! Well done to all of you guys !!!
- Gives Huggies to my fellows new intermediates (guys… we didn’t got the greatest numbers of stucks but ours were really good looking)
- Thanks my seniors intermediates and advanced members for joining the rescues and supporting all of us! (They sweated the most I believe…)
- Our crews and media members for enhancing our experience
- Pay my respect to our organizer and leader Bu Salem, who made this drive such a fun event to not miss.
-thanks my passenger for his support in pushing my car… and all the near death laughter we had that morning.

I have had a blast !

Thank you all,

See you around the dunes !
Bisous

Ps: I indeed got stuck, I must acknowledge my mistake, it wasn’t my passenger’s fault. I got defeated this time… but this is not the end.

[CARLOSS]

Hi everyone,

Believe or not, after a few years this was my first Friday the 13th so I did not know what to expect. Did not read anything on purpose in order to be surprised and clearly I was...

@alshamsi_m led and briefed us all and then I got the whole thing...his green evil thing + eggs in the basket area + a bunch of "poor" newbies was the perfect recipe of a massacre!!!

For getting all this mess "under control" there was also a generous convoy formed by inter and advanced taking care of the victims.

Game is simple, boss pushes you through a rough and technical area at the speed of light and you get caught like a fly in a spider web.

The rest...is history.

It was a very interesting experience watching the show from certain distance with newbies stuck everywhere and inter trying to assist them all

I look forward for joining my next one!

See you soon
Carlos