SandSailing v1 DXB-ADV (22 Jan)

[Kayra]

This drive was opened by SandSailor (Emre) and it was going to be his first official lead but due to health reasons Emre had to pull out. With Sai’s encouragement and Emre’s blessing I was given the lead.

All drivers gathered at our usual Shoueib deflation point and after a short briefing we started driving at 09:10. Convoy lined up in the following order:

Engin
Serkan + 2 passengers
Ozgur + 1 passenger
Sai
Waleed
Abo Ali
Mustafa

I started testing the high dunes of Shoeib and failed in the first couple of switch attempts because the top of the dunes were very rough as the heavy winds of yesterday has moved a lot of soft sand exposing the very bumpy and unpredictable hard surface left over from the rainy days of past few weeks. As my confidence built up I did the first switch and we left the first set of high dunes in Shoeib. On the way to the second set of high dunes, Serkan’s passenger started feeling sick and we took a break. Following this break we head to the second set and faced with similar crests which are very uncomfortable and risky to ride on. This forced me to aim the smaller and more technical dunes. Serkan’s passenger couldn’t recover from his condition and Serkan decided to end the drive for him. Abo Ali joined Serkan and they left together. At this point Ozgur took Serkan’s position as the second lead.

We then hit the third set of the high dunes (the ones before Superbowl) and they were more manageable. That’s were the fun started. We did a number of switches on the suitable crests and played around there for some time.

Superbowl was difficult to climb. I had to abort the climb and turn down becuase the track was so much destroyed.
For the rest of the drive I took it easy and tried to have fast paced technical Advance drive with twists and turns.

We reached Badayer shops at 12:00 and concluded our drive.

We had one rope recovery where Mustafa pulled me out and few self recoveries. There were 2 or 3 second tries.

Ozgur did extremely well as the second lead and other than one second try he followed my tracks without much struggle. Congratulations on his upgrade to Advance.

I admire Waleed’s energy masallah, he joined the drive one day after a 3500km bike ride he completed. Of course he did very well all through the track.

Thanks to brother Abo Ali for joining the drive and later on assisting Serkan with the sick passenger.

Thank you Mustafa, Sai and Serkan for encouraging me. It was flattering to have 3 marshals following my lead.

And lastly thanks to SandSailor for organizing this drive. You were missed. I hope you get well soon.

Best,
Engin

[Sai27]

Excellent lead & tracks Engin. Felt like driving behind an experienced Marshal. You never struggled to find the tracks. Few good switches and climbs. Awaiting for your next advance lead. Ozgur did an excellent run.. 100% ready for next level. Waleed-You have improved a lot and now on Expert level drive. Keep it up.

God bless..

[MustafaHabash]

Engin your first lead was flawless considering the unusual terrain and spoiled crests. We literally faced ditches on the crests as we attempted to switch them. Your confidence in leading and style in driving is slowly but surely seeing light and will only sharpen by announcing and leading more drives. I admire your sense of safety and judgement calls. A promising trip leader indeed.

Needless to compliment the driving skills of the rest of the members. Ozgür we’re happy to have you in AD4x4 and looking forward to seeing you in the advance league.

Looking forward to your drive Engin.

Mustafa

[Ozzy]

The marshals have already said it all about Engin's lead today. As a less experienced driver, I'll just say that I really had a fantastic time today. Following Engin's lead felt safe and I truly had an enjoyable experience. I'm impressed that today's drive was the first time that Engin did a full lead. He led like someone who had more experience than a first timer.

Other than that, today's drive was one full of stars. Sai, Serkan, and Mustafa as marshals, and then Abo Ali and Waleed as highly experienced drivers. It was a bit unfortunate that Serkan and Abo Ali had to leave early, and that Emre was not able to join us. Hopefully, I'll see them again soon.

All in all, I was very lucky to be a part of today's drive. What an amazing drive and group of people!

[KomSer]

Engin,

First of all thanks for the great lead on the drive.

The drive was Emre's. However due to his family health conditions, He withdrew his registration and Engin got the lead. It was first official lead of Engin and he managed perfectly. The terrain was spoiled due to the rain, the sand was like in rock formation on the top of the many dunes. Your decisions to handle such situations was perfect Engin.

Unfortunately my passenger got motion sickness and I had to leave since his health situation was badly affected. I did not have any chance rather than leaving from this amazing atmosphere. From now on I will accept passengers on my car if they have taken some motion sickness pills.

As always, nice to drive with Sai & Mustafa. Waleed came from a long adventure bike trip and joined to the drive without proper rest. You are doing great Waleed. Always our pleasure to drive with AbuAli. Whatever technical problems happen, everybody look for him since we know that he always fully support the drives. Ozgur, you surprised me with your skills Definitely ready for the next level. Emre, looking forward to drive with you soon.

During the drive there was butane gas smell inside my car. I thought that its from outside but it never end. Hence we checked with AbuAli about the gas smell. Same time I had checked my tool box and noticed that I had kept a butane gas can installed by torch and it released the gas! Never keep such things always in the car, it really dangerous.

Looking forward further drives with you team.

Warm Regards
Serkan