Almost4x4

Hello almosters

Drive was lead by Marshall Scorpio with Marshall Jass floating, we was briefed at the start about if you not going to make a climb turn down or get stuck straight and reverse down straight.Much safer options than getting stuck sideways and risking a rollover.Jass also mentioned about improving on last weekends radio communication signalling 2nd trys etc.

Was excited when the location came through Friday to find out we would be at nahil again. Last weekend we only managed half of the planned track due to soo many stucks and pop outs. Unfortunately this weekend was a mirror image and many many stucks which prevented us from tackling the higher dunes as anticipated. Fully understand the Marshall dropping the level down to what seemed like 10- as they have to keep everyone in the convoy safe.

Few small mistakes made by myself one being car in front stopping quite suddenly in a danger zone to switch from 4l to 4h without any radio signal. Lesson to myself have to anticipate the car in front and behind making mistakes and put myself in a safe place out of harms way.

Had to make a couple of second trys one because I was in the wrong gear and car not in the powerband rookie error.

Always a pleasure to spend time with the sand family even if the drive didn't go according to plan.

Thanks as always to the Marshalls and support crew for guidance and on the fly tips .

Until next time.........

Dear Almosters,

The Phantom was an early moring drive meaning a 5am alarm to ensure
I was able to arrive before the designated Meeting time - the start point was in an area of nahal, Sweihan I had not previously visited

Arriving early I set about deflating and setting my flag, then went for a quick scout around the area before the other drivers arrived. before long everyone had arrived and done their pre-drive preperations.

@Scorpio handled the beifing and explained the plan for the drive - it would be high arches, some side cresting and faster pace than the 10+ drivers have experienced in the past.

We had the GOAT (@Rashidjass ) floating marshal to keep a watchful eye on everyone

@Paddy was positioned at 2nd Lead and @Petr as sweeper. I was positioned mid Convoy to asist with any recoveries.

The key focus for the drivers was to be - correct speed, correct approach angle, following distance and of course radio communication.

within the first few min of the drive we had 2nd tries and stucks that in most cases were self recoveries under the direction of @Rashidjass and that pretty much set the scene for the entire drive, difficult to get a good flow due to the start stop nature. eating up more time we had a couple of popouts - one which we ended up having to change the wheel, again eating into the driving time.

The Radio communication from drivers having 2nd try, clearing a crest reporting a stuck still needs a lot of work from the drivers inorder to keep everyone safe.

Unfortuneately we were not able to make it ot the bigger dune areas (Naga Dune) as the time had splipped away - @Scorpio headed out across the flat plains to the end point where we inflated and said our goodbyes

The Majority of the drivers were in stock LWB Pajeros, Land Cruisers and Prados, so hats off to those guys driving these cars at the 10+ level - the vehicals really become a lot to handle with this terrain and these sand conditions.

Regards

Hi Almosters,

The Phantom was a morning trip for 10+ drivers, I reached to the meeting point & recognized that the trip will not be easy as the sand at the meeting point was very soft.

I start deflating and setting my flag to be ready to start the trip.

Drive was lead by Marshall @Scorpio & Marshall @Rashidjass was floating, they start gave us the plan of the trip as we should start from our meeting point & to be end at Sweihan area, we should do high arches, some side cresting.

We started the trip & my position was 5th at the convoy, I tried to keep a propel distance between my car & the front car @Spyda, after 45 min I had a popout, I got the full support from the Marshals & the rescue team to solve the issue and ended by replacing the tyre by the spare one.

I learned from my mistake which I did it this time as I deflate my front stock tyre more than the required.

We continued the trip & there were a lot of 2nd try which took from us a lot of time to pass & we were not able to take more time on the bigger dune areas (Naga Dune) as the time had slipped away.

We reached to end of the trip point around 12:0 p.m.

Many thanks to our marshals @Scorpio, @Rashidjass and the rescue team specially @brett.

See you next time.

The Phantom!!

It was suppose to be a fast pace drive to help new 10+ drivers start preparing for the next level.

I was assigned second lead and @Petr was sweeping. @brett was placed in the middle.

@Scorpio started the briefing and strongly recommended everyone to bail out any arch if they feel car is losing power or if they feel they can't make it instead of landing into a dangerous situation. He also suggested if anyone had to stop always do it in nose up position.

However we did encounter some situations where new 10+ drivers struggled and ended up into tricky situations, Thanks to our seasoned marshal @Rashidjass all were recovered safely.

Just after first 10 minutes I kept losing cars in my rear view mirror and after multiple retries and stucks/popouts leading marshal @Scorpio brought the level down to may be 5+ as we lost a lot of drive time. Finally we finished in Sweihan without touching any big dune.

Hoping we will have better performance by the convoy in future drives.

Thank you @Scorpio , @Rashidjass , @Petr and @brett for the drive.

See you all on sand soon.

~BR
Paddy

So, my 10+ drive number two, and back in the stunning Nahil which is the perfect 'playground' which I have realised allows the lead to tweak and tune the drive up or down a level or two if needs be.

It was clear from the @Scorpio's briefing that at 10+ both the driver and their vehicles will be tested harder and harder. That we will be taken into increasingly tricky situations but to use our experience to now how and when to 'bail out', so to keep us and the vehicles safe and the right way up.

And almost immediately we could see evidence of the increased level expected from us. It was a fairly interrupted drive as we were out through our paces with second tries and a couple of pop-outs needing to be addressed, but as alway these pauses are not breaks but opportunities for the rest of us to watch, assess, review, and to think through how we may act in the same situation. There is always an opportunity to learn whether it is first-hand or by watching others.

I tried to really focus on momentum and energy management. To really find that fine line between a second try and flying. And in doing so I can realise how being fluid and working with the vehicle and gravity, makes for a much better experience., so that will continue to be my focus as I continue to try to learn just a fraction of what these 'masters' who support and coach us are able to do.

As always a big thank you to the whole team for another wonderful drive.

See you all back in the sand!

Oh, and rescues on a large 45 degree dune are quite something to watch!