Marshal Serkan and I planned this trip in parallel to start and finish at the same time and same place. He took the Newbies and I led the intermediates.
We met at Al Faqa'a East Petrol station and 06:45 and moved to the deflation point around 07:15. My convoy order was as follows:
Kayra (Engin) Lead
Jock63 (Peter) Second lead
Avni34 (Avni and his co-pilot Emir)
AAA (Ahmad) Sweeper

After the safety briefing, our convoy started moving at 07:40.

We warmed up first at the low dunes of Al Faqa'a and as we picked up the confidence we climbed to higher dunes at different speeds trying to control our vehicles at the side slopes. We did two stops with our convoy and a third one with Serkan's newbie convoy, where we mingled with the Newbies and enjoyed Serkan's pan fired halloumi cheese and Turkish soujouk.

Realizing that we are a bit behind our schedule, we emerged from that stop ahead of Serkan's team and started having a fast-paced drive headed straight to our finishing point, the solar station tower at Al Qudra. We had 3kms left on my GPS to reach the solar tower and it was visible in front of me. I did one straight crest and landed in a trench completely stuck in the powder sand of Al Qudra. Apparently, it was a construction site but there was no sign banning entry of any vehicle until I dropped in that trench. The position required advanced recovery and we decided to make train with Peter's Rubicon and Ahmad's Super Safari to move the back of my car a bit to the side so I could get room to wiggle out of that ditch. At that time, workers and a pissed-off Chinese engineer came and started taking videos. After an initial friction, we understood each other, and they started watching our recovery attempt. I asked them to send the excavator working nearby and they declined. The train of cars pulled me twice and managed to tilt my back towards my right however the sand was too soft and it was nearly impossible to steer my car without breaking my hydraulic steering. I asked Peter and Ahmad to abandon the recovery attempt as I thought it would get dangerous with enormous pressure on the recovery points of the vehicles. I was thinking to call Serkan and ask him to send Ozzy to me as he has a winch but at that time, the engineer decided to send the excavator nearby to come and recover me as he needed to clear the area quickly. Rest was simple. After recovery by the excavator, we reached the nearby road and drove to the solar tower to end our drive. It was 12:15 when we completed the drive.
Despite Al Qudra's unforgiving sand, we had 3 snatch recoveries, at least one self-recovery by each driver and one excavator recovery.

Peter -
did very well as my second lead. He kept very good distance and when required easily diverted the convoy to safer routes adjusting my route selection.
Ahmad -
It was the first time I drove with Ahmad and I think he is upper-intermediate level. He was perfect as a sweeper. He guided Avni for self-recovery a couple of times and he also did snatch recovery when needed.
Avni (and my bud Emir) -
Avni did well in controlling his vehicle in side slopes and lower speeds. He had plenty of opportunity to test his vehicle at lower speeds in low and mid angle side slopes and most of time did very well without putting himself in danger. He also did one snatch recovery to me, which should go into his log book.
All drivers were very well in radio comms.
Overall, it was a fun drive for me. I would have wanted it to end earlier than 12:30 but unfortunately my entry into the trench and the recovery from there set us back around an hour. We couldn't finish at the same time with Serkan as they were around 30 mins behind us but with regular communication Serkan and I made sure that everyone left the desert safe and sound.

I think with his on the spot cooking, Marshal Serkan set a new standard for our valuable Marshals in looking after their convoy.

Thank you guys, for joining my drive and I hope to see you again soon.

Best,
Engin

Thanks a lot Engin for the fun cool drive!

We had a lot of roller coasters side slopes and good runs, the track had a lot of technical runs and we were able to safely fun ourselves with the hot powdery sand.

Now we can say that we have seen a new recovery method; the excavator

I appreciate your continuous efforts to ensure the safety of the convoy and your guidance on how to improve our offroading skills.

Thanks Peter and Avni for the fun times! And thanks Serkan for the grilled halloumi and soujouk.

You did great Engin and we all had fun during the drive. 2 convoys were together in Al Faqa all the way, we had a break together while chitchatting and having good time.

2 years back, İ had the similar chaotic stuck At the near place you got stuck and was recovered by excavator.
Unfortunately no one was able to recover me until we call Hani from Al Ain. He came with his car and recovered me with the vinch. (Thanks to him again)

Looking forward further drives together.

Warm Regards

This was a fantastic Intermediate drive. Engin, picked amazing tracks that were a lot of fun, and at the same time he gave superb instruction to the intermediates on the drive.

Avni did a great job only only his second intermediate drive and Ahmad was a great Sweeper and will be an Advanced driver in a very short time.

Managed to capture parts of the drive on my Sunglasses, yes I do mean my sunglasses. Here is the link to the video of todays drive including the recovery

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM4-v6NCQw0

Thank you Engin for sharing the full story. We heard about the recovery on several whatsapp groups and i was so intrigued when i saw you posted the report. From what I read, I believe you have taken the right decision keeping everyone and their vehicles safe. I hope you and your rig are too.

Well done again. Let’s catch up soon.

Mustafa

Thank god you are safe and all is good, those situations what makes us gain experience and learn new things.

I m sure you did well and took the right choice

Thank god. You are safe without any damage

Thank you guys.