Cool Stars IX

[David]

Very enjoyable Newbie 10- in the Nahil/Sweihan areas. Barish, the leading Marshall, selected a very good track consisting of mainly safari style but also including other elements, overall nice pace of the convoy, terrain in good condition (no tracks and no bushes) so hoping everyone enjoyed it.

Only points to be remembered the "usual ones":

- The most important (as it could lead to dangerous situations) is arches, if you don't carry enough momentum it is not a problem to make a lower/shorter arch, what you should never do is to try to push the car to go in the direction it does not want to go, steer down and get the front of the car moving downwards.

- Distance between cars, try to keep enough to give you the chance to react if car in front of you has any issues but at the same time to be able to see it and use it as point of reference.

Main issue for the convoy came in a straight crest (sharp) that Barish selected as one of the last obstacles for the convoy, a good number of "victims" there that required of Marco's pull (of course without getting out of the car ), good practice for the convoy.

Many thanks to Barish for organizing and leading this very nice drive and for everyone else that attended.

See you on the sand soon.

[siddharthsai]

Yes. Another amazing drive from Almost4x4.

I was one of the first to register for this. Originally I was supposed to miss the drive since I had to travel but thankfully it was postponed by the time the registration started.

Drive started off at 2.40 with @baris leading the pack and @brett as second lead.

I came with a slight headache so wasn't on my best mental state when we started plus the hot weather made it worse. But as the drive progressed it got a lot better maybe from the adrenaline.

Drive was smooth. Baris already mentioned he would start the drive -5 and then later according to the level change the difficulty. He did keep his word, and I really loved the small dunes where it was really technical on how to balance speed and braking. Also I love the way my tyre and suspension work on the rear view mirror (never tired of that view).

The large sharp straight crest wasn't easy. When Brett got stuck, honestly even though it was doable, I lost a little confidence which did lead to be getting stuck at the last moment. I really didn't want to fly and I tried to keep it safe and just maybe missed tapping the pedal for 1 second. Lesson learned. Which makes me realize that you never stop learning on the sand. I keep thinking every start of the drive like questioning myself - Why am I doing this everytime spending my time and money and then end of the drive be like this is the best thing ever (post-desert clarity ) ..

Thanks to @OmarShams and Mustafa for feeding me during the drive.

We have an awesome family

[massaleh]

It's drive day!

Every time a drive name is selected, I find myself curious about the names given “Stars”.

By the end of each drive, the meaning becomes clear, all the drivers become rising stars by the end of the drive, and you get to see the real stars, which are the "Almost 4x4" team from the leaders and support.

I had a wonderful experience during this drive, tackling arches, "S" tracks, dropping and climbing at small angles, and facing the challenge of direct crossings.

Whenever I hear "No flying," I feel like I might get crested. Mixing "no flying" with "no brake at the top" can be tricky, but this time, I got the right momentum and a helpful hint from @Ehab at the top of the dune, and there we go—crossed safely from the first try.

Never forget to mention, the special friendly touch of @Mostafa during the breaks and at the end of each drive.

Thank you, @Barish for the great track, and thanks to the entire support team.

I'm looking forward for the next drive


Mohammad Assaleh (عسالة)

[brett]

Dear Almosters,

Saturday afternoon in Nahal started by arriving early and deflating etc before settling in waiting for the others to arrive. I was soon joined by @Ahmad and @Moustafa
Once the eager Newbies arrived @Barish took attendance and set the convoy positions. It was to be a 5- level drive to accommodate the few drivers with only a couple of drives under their belt. With the expectation that if the convoy was handling the challenges presented to them @Barish would increase the level accordingly.
So, I was in the 2nd lead position @Ahmad and @mustafa spread within the convoy for any recoveries and @mpodroid sweeping. Advanced drivers @David and @Ehab would be floating to help keep an eye on the convoy and round up any drivers who lost the track of disconnected with the convoy.
The drive started at a nice pace with no major stucks refusals and 2nd tries. @Barish started increasing the level with some small arches and straight crosses. Some nice drops were also there to keep the drivers focused.
After the mid-point of the drive @Barish started to increase the level further with higher arches – this requires drivers to climb and complete the arch at the right angle and speed to ensure it is completed safely, remember if gravity starts to pull on your car – do not fight it ! turn down, we had a couple examples of drivers not following this basic technique and becoming stuck on the wall – fortunately these situations were quickly resolved with instruction to the drivers for the Advanced team and @Barish . Fighting gravity can end extremely badly causing rollovers – fortunately, the drivers had luck on their side on this day.
Towards the end @Barish found a really nice dune for a straight cross. After he completed the climb, he called “no flying”!
I approached the crest and low and behold I was crested!
The excuses
- I did it on purpose so @mpodroid would have to come and pull me off the crest.
- I did it on purpose to physic out the Newbies behind me
The Reality
- I miss calculated approach speed and let off the power before crossing the crest completely.
- The Jeep of Barish is narrower and lighter than the FJ meaning there was more of the crest to flatten which I failed to calculate.
- I did flatten the crest for the Newbies but, many were still caught out by crest and got stuck on first attempt.
- A fail on my part! so the expected ribbing by the Advanced and intermediates, but the lesson as always Safety First! better to be crested than to fly! take off is easy, it’s the landings that are difficult, dangerous and expensive.
The remainder of the drive was at a brisk pace, everyone arrived back at the roadside safely to inflate and head home.
Total distance 46.46km
Total time 4hrs, 3min
Average speed 23km/h Max speed 64km/h

[Barish]

Hello everyone

This was another Cool Stars drive with our 10- Newbie members who were lucky to get registered in first 7-8 minutes of the registration.

We reached to the meeting point on a warm weather indicating the weather change but it went better in the second half of the afternoon.

As promised, we started to drive in lower level and increased gradually in controlled manner subject to the performance of the convoy. We have tried different obstacles, straight crest, arches, technical....Finally we have reached to that dune and trained to manage the momentum, break time and straight drop in a nice dune as well as the use of recovery equipments

Thanks to our support and rescue team and the drivers for another successful drive.

Dont forget: you will chg once you improve, before that you will kepp stepping on the same spot.

See you next time.

Barish