Tom Sawyer
The group met at the meeting point on time and we were ready to brief by about 1pm.
We had a safety briefing to ensure everyone was aware of the important information that keeps us safe and I selected convoy order. We were a big group today, 13 in the line-up. Chef Marc was overseeing the trip, Sujith was my Second Lead, with the mighty Preggy as my Sweeper. We lined up, performed radio checks, and set off on our journey to find adventure,
Having run in this area in the morning with a couple of members on this trip, the sand certainly changed from firm to soft sand and occasional mush. This made the trip totally different and added a degree of complexity.
We began slowly with some side crests and followed parallel to the dunes for a few kilometers. This gave everyone a chance to get a feel for their cars, relax a bit, and prepare for a bit more complexity. The side sloping was without incident and we didn’t experience our first second try until we began to straight crest and traverse the alley between some tight dunes. The second try turned into a few tries, but Preggy gave some pointers and direction to get our Brutha back in the game and the convoy moving again. We continued to use the flow of the dunes to our advantage and side slope for a few kilometers, then straight crest for about a hundred meters, and then side slope for a distance again. Sometimes we just reversed course and ran the same track in the opposite direction.
We had a couple of straight crest stucks that were quickly taken care of by Preggy. Occasionally our momentum was slowed due to the high volume of other convoys in the area, however, the drive was excellent, and everyone performed very well.
Thanks to Sujith for the excellent Second Lead performance, a job well done communicating hazards and keeping the convoy organized. Thank you Preggy for keeping the tail in line!
8 comments on Tom Sawyer
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Nice meeting you Mike and pleasure to join your ride today both morning and afternoon. In the morning, a chilly start and special view on dubai city with the sunrise. Firm sand and the opportunity to practice being second lead. Afternoon sunny ride, same place different experience .Looking forward to more rides and explore your home grounds soon.
Excellent today Mike thank you, Sven even gave you 4 stars so you know its good 😂. No but seriously it was silky, thanks to Preggo for the recovery.
😂😂
After enjoying the morning trip I was expecting more of the same, so it was great that the sand had dried up giving us a more challenging surface!
Thanks Mike, Sujith for leading the way and Preggy for keeping us moving
Good Friday afternoon drive Mike, Nice and steady, liked the area and the dunes.
Thanks to the support team as well!
Nice meeting you Mike and thanks for the nice drive. It was fun and smooth.
A smooth silky drive by Mike. Enjoyed every bit of it. Thanks to the team members for following the instructions perfectly, proud of you guys. Did a great job and this is one of the reasons why we didn’t have much of hiccups. Great recovery by Preggy. It’s always a pleasure to drive with mighty Preggy and Mike. A SUPER supervision was provided by Chef Marc. Thank you for all the feedbacks ChefMarc.
See you all again soon.
Lesson learned: Following instructions not only lets you enjoy the drive without any hiccups, but most importantly makes your journey Safe for you, your fellow passengers and your ride. Oh yea.. saves money too ðŸ¤ðŸ˜‚
Great drive Mike.
The convoy was larger than is typical with DF drives, but nothing that Mike couldn’t handle. His lines were easy to follow and it allowed the convoy to move with ease. Sujit kept a close eye on the vehicles behind him while also giving Mike enough space to explore and chart a course that everyone could manage.
The sand was well compacted from the previous days rains, creating a hard surface. After driving on this surface for more than an hour, complacency started to set in and some Fellas become a little too relaxed about the momentum required for straight cresting. This resulted in them approaching the crest too slowly and then using excessive acceleration at the last moment to scramble over the top. You got away with it this time, but you would not have been so lucky if the sand was dry. The other common sight on this drive was Fellas cornering too fast for the texture of the sand. Once again, we were lucky that everyone maintained high tire pressures (more than 13 psi) otherwise there would have been numerous pop outs. Maintaining high tire pressure does not guarantee that you won’t have a pop out. When you change direction on wet sand (during cornering) almost all the vehicle’s momentum is transferred to the sidewalls of your tires thereby increasing the likelihood of a pop out. So watch your speed when cornering on wet, firm sand,
See you on the sand.