Gulf News Fun Drive 2013 – DO Convoy
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Good luck guys for tomorrow. If you need The Winchman to pull you out from the track, just give me a call. We will be close by…… 😀
quote Robinson:Good luck guys for tomorrow. If you need The Winchman to pull you out from the track, just give me a call. We will be close by…… 😀Defenitely Sir….even if we dont need the winch….we would love to have u with us… 🙂
Last & Final Call – for all the participants of Gulf News Fun Drive under the Dubai Offroaders Club banner :
1. Get your “disclaimer form” duly filled along with the copy of your driving license.
2. Fill up your petrol tank / extra fuel before you reach the Emarat Petrol station.
3. Set your radio to channel 6 before you enter the meeting point.
4. DO NOT enter the Emarat petrol station if it is crowded. Halt outside the petrol pump in a line.
5. Get your car ready with all the required stickers.Over and above all…..please be in your uniform of Black T shirt & Red Cap…..
See you all the meeting point and lets rock the expected sand storm in between the rush of 1100 cars…
Have a nice sleep and wake up before time…..no wake-up calls will be provided 😀
[quote=”GKumar”]1) Thanseer – 056 6764924 – GNFD # 459
2) Kumar – 050 4870406 – GNFD # 244
3) Ashok – 050 6599358 – GNFD # 245
4) Ganesh – 050 7889064 – GNFD # 243
5) Jayesh – 050 8572027 – GNFD # 247
6) Firoz – 055 8820618 – GNFD # 592
7) Sannu – 050 9465851 – GNFD # 246
8) Shabeer Saidu Mohammed – 056 6369780 – GNFD # 835
9) Wasi Abbas – 050 5082575 – GNFD # 469
10) David – 055 9006310 – GNFD # 581
11) Mumtaz Hussain – 050 6950170 – GNFD # 629
12) Shajer Abbas Sial – 055 5068727 – GNFD # 628
13) ______________ – 05_ _______ – GNFD # 627
14)
15)Sandeep-050 6519376 -GNFD #535
GNFD – DO Convoy Dress Code Confirmation – Black T Shirt and Red Cap
) Thanseer – 056 6764924 – GNFD # 459 – Confirmed
2) Kumar – 050 4870406 – GNFD # 244 – Confirmed
3) Ashok – 050 6599358 – GNFD # 245 – Confirmed
4) Ganesh – 050 7889064 – GNFD # 243 – Confirmed
5) Jayesh – 050 8572027 – GNFD # 247 ( )
6) Firoz – 055 8820618 – GNFD # 592 Confirmed
7) Sannu – 050 9465851 – GNFD # 246 Confirmed
8) Shabeer Saidu Mohammed – 056 6369780 – GNFD # 835 – Confirmed
9) Wasi Abbas – 050 5082575 – GNFD # 469 (Forced to confirm, no other option )
10) David – 055 9006310 – GNFD # 581 – Confirmed
11) Mumtaz Hussain – 050 6950170 – GNFD # 629
12) Shajer Abbas Sial – 055 5068727 – GNFD # 628
13) Umer Zuberi – 055 1432183 – GNFD # 627
14) Razik Rizwan – 056 3407275 – GNFD # 694 – Confirmed
15) Shibu – 055 3392233 – GNFD # 371 – Confirmed
16) Sandeep-050 6519376 -GNFD #535DONE!!!
I have been busy with patient all day thursday and I just found out about the drive. Can i register.
Hamid
quote offroad:I have been busy with patient all day thursday and I just found out about the drive. Can i register.
HamidDr. Sajjadi Gulf News Fun Drive is one of the foremost offroad events in which anybody can take part without a prepared vehicle and it does not even exempts driver without any offroad expereince…hence it is a very popular and eagerly awaited event on Dubai’s social calender.
There were 1,001 Car entries this year in the Fun Drive and all these places were booked in the first 4 hours after the publication of advertisement & opening of registration on 26th of December 2012.
We had 10+ Marshals & 20+ Participants from Dubai offroaders this year in the Fun Drive!!!
Looking forward for the reports from our Marshals….
What a day I had offroadin yesterday…a day full of learning from both mother nature and u amazing DOs’ alike…whilst the desert had its own plans with its stormy best for its newest visitor u offroaders with your “we’re there for u” attitude gave me courage…it truly was an honour driving in your company guys…what drivers u are…wow!
I’d like to mention few names and extend my appreciation to some of u I got an opportunity to interact with and also finish the day together…
Kumar, u r a true inspiration and a great coach…thank u for pulling me out from that hole and demonstrating self recovery skills silently…hats off to u, Sir!
Zarir, Firoz, Shabeer & David…it was a privilage completing the day with u folks…
Zarir, of the 30 odd cars in that sink hole u were the only one to pull it off in one go…applause!
Firoz, thank u for the support and the radio…I would have struggled without them…thank u for the advice to opt drivin on tarmac in the last leg…it genuinely was a good one…
shabeer, GN marshals applause for u was truly a deserving one…wat a recovery dat was…wish I had filmed it!
Thomas, thank u for being there after dark wen I thought I was losing it and was also very nervous…
David, it was great following your tracks and thank u for ur patience with my pace…
Finally, thank u one and all!
Besides, out of curiosity did any of u “out of concern” take off the magnetic DO sticker from my car at the camp? I left them on overnite, I know it was silly of me!
See u all soon and have a good week ahead!
Met up with the DO gang at the Emarat pump at about 5.45 am with slight rain before and after. Moved along as a convoy to the Sevens to begin our registration process and breakfast. Met up with Ahmedbhai during breakfast. Registration, breakfast, goody bag, lunch boxes, water stock, deflation, sticker distribution, briefing etc all sorted and we finally rolled out after almost 3 long hours departing amongst the last few cars.
Sector 1 was purely tarmac and as we approached that checkpoint we had quite a few cars already lined up ahead of us waiting to enter the sands.
Sector 2, 3 and 4 had nothing worth mentioning except the humongous pile up of cars to cross over the tarmac and facilitate the Guinness Book counting which by the way the record was not broken. I think we had 1 stuck so far which was recovered by the GN marshals as they refused to let our sweep team do the recovery. By stage 4, Ganesh and me were wondering if there was gonna be any real challenge in this years Fun Drive. We had just 1 stuck but stopped a million times to regroup as convoy disciple was really lacking with most of the newbees stopping as and when they felt like.
Sector 5 saw some nice dunes as we moved along the electric pylons. Corrected our path as it appeared we were heading in the opp direction. Thankfully, Thanseer and Kumar realised this quite soon before any time was lost. As we moved along the dunes, this place seemed to be the quick sand for numerous drivers. Stuck after stuck were seen as we moved along.
The convoy got split up here as it just wasn’t possible to stick close together. Thanseer and Wasi had moved along ahead while Kumar, Ganesh and Ashok were at the same spot for over an hour trying to help out and rescue a few off roaders to get a clear track. 2 of the 4 newbees for some reason decided to venture off on their own away from the DO convoy. Jayesh, Firoz, Razik, Shabeer, David and myself were forced to wait by the marshals for a huge bowl to clear up so we cross over.
It was at this bowl that Jayesh was forced to rescue our Land Cruiser Newbee (apologies but don’t remember the name) using the winch as the GN marshals were not able to recover the LC. That recovery itself must have taken us about an hour. Hats off to you Hulk. Once this recovery was completed the services of the Hulk were again required by Kumar to help get out Ashok I think who got bogged down trying to help someone else out. So off Jayesh went with Thanseer to put his winch in service.
The others were then forced to move on by the marshals to the check post. Given that we now had no marshal with us, Firoz and myself decided to head to the check post using the route map being navigated by our respective co-pilots.
Sector 6 – At the start we were 5 cars in total now of Shabeer, Razik, David, Firoz and myself. Firoz had a quick word with Kumar on their status and was advised to proceed on as they were still there at their initial spot itself in the earlier sector. Personally I was quite keen to do one more sector before heading to the camp and more so this sector as I had read in the Gulf News article that this was the trickiest sector with extremely soft sand.
Had a quick word with the other drivers and told them my intentions to continue on. Highlighted to them that in spite of there being no lead marshal available with us I was doing this sector on my own accord merely using the route notes as my guide. Explained to them that I would not be able to provide the same support or recovery as Thanseer and Kumar and hence they can head straight to the camp as a safer option. However all the other 4 drivers too were very keen to continue and said no issues, we shall follow you. Not what I was expecting them to say but well on we went.
The sector started off well with a nice pace. This sector needed you to be on your toes and keep momentum at all times. The soft sand with having hundreds of cars already pound through them had virtually turned to powder. Had a minor cresting by Shabeer which was quickly recovered by Firoz and on we went.
Eventually hit a road block in the form of 2 huge bowls directly in front of us. Both of them having tons of cars already stuck inside and a few cars on the edge well on the way of heading inside and getting stuck. We spent 30 odd mins just observing that bowl and seeing if any car could successfully cross over but didn’t see a single one. A quick recce on foot by David and Firoz and some consultation with a marshal who was around and we finally made our attempt seeing no other viable option available. I attempted to go around the edge of the bowl but the bottom of the bowl had its own power and pulled me in. Instead of fighting it, went in and using my momentum also attempted to climb out and succeeded using the last drop of engine power. As it was past sunset by now the marshals were forcing us to get down on to the sabkah for safety. Firoz in his attempt unfortunately had a pop-out which needed to be fixed.
With a few more stucks and rescues from the marshal, eventually Firoz, Shabeer, Razik and myself were united. Razik, sorry about your side mirror but glad it was just minor. David was asked to stay back by a marshal who said would bring him to the campsite. As we were sure he was in safe hands we proceeded to the campsite. A quick dinner there and we bid our good-byes. The camping report I guess would come from our overnight campers.
David – Your driving and spirit was commendable. Can’t believe that you’ve only done 4 – 5 drives so far.
Shabeer – A great improvement in driving skills as well as confidence since our GPS challenge.
Razik – Your first time in the sand but you seem a natural at it. You were nothing like the other newbees be it in spirit, discipline or driving skills. Keep driving and you shall go places.
Firoz – Your presence is an absolute asset to any convoy. Great driving with you brother.
DO friends – a humble request, English is the preferred language of communication over the radio.
Nice report Zarir… :ymapplause: :ymapplause: :ymapplause:
I really enjoyed reading your report more than driving GNFD 2013.
Now we have more story writers…… I am thinking to bring some kind of recognition for the best reporter of the week / month.
Good work Zareer…. Keep it up…. :-BD :-BD :-BD :thanks:
Absolute fantastic and detailed report Zarir…thnks for saving my time 😀 ….the report recalled the entire picture in front of my eyes….
Cheers….
Very nice drive report Zarir :ymapplause: :ymapplause: :ymapplause: You covered most of the incidents in detail :-BD Awesome!!!
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all DO Marshals and seniors for their commendable attitude to support and help fellow offroaders, sacrificing their own fun, despite the event being paid one. :thanks: :thanks: :thanks:
Prior to the drive itself we had a very clear idea about the magnitude of the task waiting for us there out on the GNFD route, with many newbies and absolute first timers in the convoy 🙂 Still we decided not to turn down any member request, which indeed is commendable, keeping high our commitments to safe offroading :-BD :-BD :-BD ^:)^ ^:)^ ^:)^ Thereby we had a very long convoy of 18 cars in total 😮 9 DO regular members and 9 new faces 😀
New members were not really much aware of DO convoy discipline and the professional mode we operate this risky business. Ofcourse, a 5 minutes briefing was not enough to grasp these basic rules and the first timers struggled to maintain what was briefed to them in midst of horrible weather (sand storm) huge number of cars, spoiled sand, tough terrain and various advises. Very bad climate of sand storm was a real challenge to rescue and recovery which has considerably increased our task 😀 :(( But we can be very happy on the achievement that the whole convoy reached the campsite with happy faces, no major mishaps and damages. :-BD :-BD :-BD
Thanks to the senior DO members Firoz and Zarir for all the efforts and convoy support :thanks: David, Shabeer and Wazzi you guys were really cool :ymapplause: :ymapplause: :ymapplause: may be the experience and skills you gained in our drives had paid you off very well :-BD :-BD :-BD Special thanks and appreciation to Hulk (Jayesh) for the very supportive attitude and was readily available for any help :ymhug: :ymhug: :ymhug: :ymapplause: :ymapplause: :ymapplause:. Wherever you are, no doubt you will be an asset :-BD Its not about the rescue equipments you posses, but its all about your sincerity and attitude :ymblushing: Big thanks to the Lead and Sweep marshals – Thanseer, Ashok and Dada :thanks:
I was wondering, this year what went wrong with the GNFD marshals :-\ I was cautioned on two occasions by them while doing recoveries and those who warned were not ready to do the recovery. I couldn’t understand their message – if somebody is in trouble, ignore them and proceed??? No idea 😕 Examples are the bowl recovery of Razik and Jayesh recovery of Prado. Razik couldn’t control his car and he fell into a very soft bowl behind to a Prado which GNFD marshals were winching out. Because of their previous caution, we waited for half an hour expecting them to help Razik after they winch out the Prado. To our surprise, they simply ignored him and drove off. May be they felt its a tough situation, which we self recovered with a little effort. The second instance was a family pleading for help as they got stuck in a bad bowl and no other cars in the vicinity. Jayesh readily offered support to winch them out, but the GNFD marshals were so adamant to stop this rescue leaving the Prado in the bowl. Guess, they are also operating under certain strict polices and rules, as we do for safety which are unknown to me. Hence I am at liberty to feel otherwise 😀 😀 😀 :)) :)) :))
Seeing the big messup at stage 5, GNFD marshals started taking convoys to different checkpoint and due to which we had to split the convoy. But we were in contact with the senior DO members of those convoys and ensured everybody is safe out of sands either on tarmac or at the campsite :-BD. We finally reached the campsite by around 8pm. Special thanks to Shibu for collecting and sparing all those unused dinner vouchers to passengers without registration :thanks:
Since the climate was breezy and cold, I dropped the plan to stay back. I left the campsite by around 10.45pm along with Thanseer, Firoz & family, David after dinner and a good chit chat with convoy members. Thank you all for joining us and see you again soon in sands :-BD Hope the firs timers Sannu, Mumtaz Hussain, Shajer, Umer, Razik, Shibu, Pramod had a very good experience 🙂 :drive:
quote razik:Besides, out of curiosity did any of u “out of concern” take off the magnetic DO sticker from my car at the camp? I left them on overnite, I know it was silly of me!😮 😮 😮 somebody (i am sure not by someone among us) might have removed it at the campsite parking, as it was ofcourse looking nice.
quote zarir:Had a quick word with the other drivers and told them my intentions to continue on. Highlighted to them that in spite of there being no lead marshal available with us I was doing this sector on my own accord merely using the route notes as my guide. Explained to them that I would not be able to provide the same support or recovery as Thanseer and Kumar and hence they can head straight to the camp as a safer option. However all the other 4 drivers too were very keen to continue and said no issues, we shall follow you. Not what I was expecting them to say but well on we went.DO friends – a humble request, English is the preferred language of communication over the radio.
Very nice reporting zarir…could recall the complete drive in front of the eyes again :thanks:
I was little worried; when others included me decided to go for the 6th one without our regular lead marshals…but it was a real experience.
If the GNFD Marshals have advised the drivers to avoid that bowl (which was already with 2 cars at that time); we could’ve even finished the 7th one ;).
After coming out of the bowl with a popout (hit a rock on the exit); had to help a Prado Family too. The GNFD marshals left them alone 🙁 🙁 I felt very happy helping them fixing that popout…(I had 4 pop out in my past 34 drives and all those times someone or other from the DO family was there to fix)….this time it was my turn to return that 🙂 🙂 . When he thanked me for the help; I told him to say thanks to DO for teaching us “no one is left behind” :yesss: :yesss:
@Razik – your driving skills exceeded our expectations 😉 …you drove like a seasoned off roader.
@David…loved your company..Never felt like we were driving together for the first time together; it was a good combined decision not to try that bowl and take an alternative route. Thanks to your copilot.
@Shabeer – big hug to you dear for your instant decision to pull out of the way; even though that made you sink into the small bowl 🙂 (when the white Land cruiser appeared in the way suddenly from nowhere). your brave instant decision avoided that…hats off to you brother.Your copilot was very help ful – We should say thanks to him for his support :thanks:
Thanks Thanseerji, kumar, Ashok, Ganesh (and partners..), Jayesh, zarir, David and all other fellow offroaders….
Thanks zarir for your patience…feels very comfortable when you are together with us…really I mean it :). I know you are little disappointed for the lost time…we will request our marshals to design an intermediate drive soon in those area 🙂
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