[siddheshb]

Originally Posted by v&v

@siddhesh beautiful snaps and narration. Getting stuck in sand is really scary.
We too got stuck at Osian near Jodhpur during one of our drives. One of the local Jeep guy helped to get through. He advised that moving forward and backward 10-15 times stablise the sand and then one can generate the required momentum to get out and it worked.

That was one of the moments where i feed even 140 horses were less. By the way my safari is 4x2.

Interesting - and yes, if we didn't find the 20 good samaritans, I guess we would have ended up needing some of these ideas! We had planned on digging out the sand from the sides (a lot of hard work in the scorching morning sun!), and then creating a path of boulders and planks to get out.

By the way, the way the locals went about it was very interesting. First, they tilted the SUV almost 20-25 degrees, and pushed two large boulders under the free-hanging rear right tire! (I was almost scared they would topple her over!) Then, they all pushed while I gently nudged her out of the ruts she had got into. Once out, though, the soft send kept holding her back. So it took 2-3 more tries with boulders and logs placed under and in front of the tires, to get her clear!

[joshuakeys]

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[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

By the way, the way the locals went about it was very interesting. First, they tilted the SUV almost 20-25 degrees, and pushed two large boulders under the free-hanging rear right tire! (I was almost scared they would topple her over!)

Something similar had happened to me when I was driving down that Endy from Delhi to Bangalore.

We had gone to Dwarka and in our enthusiasm, got the 2wd AT Endy stuck at the Dwarka beach with a steep sandy climb ahead of us.

While we were thinking of ideas, a group of Rajasthani tourists came to the spot and one of them was a driver. He reduced the tire pressure to around 15PSI on all the four tires, rocked the vehicle back and forth till he had made a kind of rut for the truck to pick up speed and then, with one smooth surge of power, launched the Endy onto and out of the slope to safety.

Because he was from a sandy state, he knew exactly what had to be done.

It is all in the driver's hands, 95% of the time.

[Off Roadie]

Lovely log Siddesh. Have not seen all the photos and the video but did see the 2 where Samara was stuck. Those ruts make it look like a lot of wheel spin had taken place. Glad you both got out Safe and sound.
To quote Michael Schumacher, 'you are always smarter after the incident'.
If you don't mind my asking (for reference), what speed/gear were you in when you started heading back from the beach.
Was mildly stuck in Sand in the Nubra valley once, but used the back and forth trick to get out before 'digging my own grave' =p
A word of caution from a Marine engnineer, do not indulge in salt water splashes, even if you've done the underbody antirust treatment or get your car washed the next day. It 'can' cause a lot of degradation.

[aniket.tiwari27]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Something similar had happened to me when I was driving down that Endy from Delhi to Bangalore.

We had gone to Dwarka and in our enthusiasm, got the 2wd AT Endy stuck at the Dwarka beach with a steep sandy climb ahead of us.

Originally Posted by siddheshb

But the way back was a different story. I knew I needed better traction and momentum, but getting a take off ramp on the thin slice of beach was difficult, and in a heart-wrenching moment of revelation, I knew we wouldn't make it. Just a couple of seconds of wheel spinning, and it was over. The rear right tire was spinning clear now, the axle at a scary angle, and the 2 tonne beast was resting on its underbody.
Looking back, it was an adventure - it was a lot of fun - and we should have taken the opportunity for a lot more photos and videos. But at that time, all we could think of was - damn, why did we need to do this?

All's well that ends well!

Excellent pics and a great write up Siddhesh.

You atleast had a 4X4 powerful Samara. I got stuck at the sand near Bhimashankar with my 2WD Vista Petrol

But the locals are really helpful. And rightly said - All's well that ends well. You can read about my experience here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ml#post2664841

Regards
Aniket

[drbones]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

Part 1: Detours Are Fun! OR, Making the Most of the Journey!

siddheshb Nice write up of your unplanned road trip,

This is what I call a road trip. No plan, no preparation, fill up the car and start to drive. Your road trip reminds me of my college days, suddenly I started to fell nostalgic and sad thinking that those days will never return back. I was there in mahastra, vidhraba ( Amravati ) for 6 short years. Had lot of fun there while doing my MBBS.

Thanks for writing a wonderful travelogue which took me back through very good times I had in my life.

[siddheshb]

@devdath, @offroadie, the rocking strategy did not work - the sand was really soft, deposited by wind and not really packed hard. The Endy sank very quickly on its own weight. Didn't take too much wheel churn - just a couple of seconds, trust me! And by that time, it was almost resting on it's chasis, leaving the tires free to spin on their own. Was impossible to push it, even if we had cleared the sand around it's tires. Locals advised against digging up, saying it would just sink in futher. One of the first things we did to get it out was push stones UNDER the tires.

@offroadie, I was trying to get a decent momentum going up the dry sandy slope to firm land, but didn't have a ramp, and needed to take almost a U turn - which was a bad idea, since the tires just lost traction instead of gaining me speed. I was on manual 3rd gear, 4H.

@joshua, @aniket, @drbones and others - thanks for the encouraging comments and wishes!

Samara is recuperating at the A.S.S right now, should get her back tomorrow, and will know the true "cost" of the adventure by then!

[advaitlele]

Siddhesh - you'd fun man. The photos and rain-soaked roads, mist, rainbow...wow...what else you want.

Originally Posted by siddheshb

the rocking strategy did not work - the sand was really soft, deposited by wind and not really packed hard. The Endy sank very quickly on its own weight.

Thats true Siddhesh. The sand is very fine in almost entire Konkan stretch. And that is not a good sight for the vehicle - even if its a 4x4. I've seen it almost everywhere I've been. But now "ALL IZZ WELL" it seems

Hope you've anti-rust treatment and underbody coating done already.

[siddheshb]

Originally Posted by advaitlele

Hope you've anti-rust treatment and underbody coating done already.

Yes, done that long back. This time, we didnt do any water splashing. The only times I have been in the water, it's been a thin spray (I know it's bad enough) and then thoroughly spashed around in a fresh water lake, and then an hour doing a high pressure underbody water wash. Today Samara's at the A.S.S and the underbody wash is on the list.

[parsh]

Nice one. Thanks for sharing. Freshened our trip that side in June. That was a nice attempt at stretching out Endy's legs on that virgin beach. We had spotted the same while there in June and thankfully did not attempt, and anyway with Innova it would have been a bloody disaster

Next time you want to catch the virgin beach side near there to run Endy thru, go to Srivardhan beach but not from the South End, usual way where all the hotels are lined up and crowded.

BUT, the best one to go there is from up North side thru the machhimar village leading to a narrow lane and then finally between the boats onto the beach. Drive on that beach where literally none is there (although help is at hand from locals) and only one stay, Subhan beach resort with a couple of log huts and absolutely bare basic rooms. Not a great hotel and no, not great food too but the stay there and driving on the beach is worth it. The beach belongs to you there. Just putting up one snap of the location, this is at the time of mid-tide. But if you stay longer than 9:45am there, you have to drive car thru the tide, about 100 meters to get onto road in village, as we had to, quite an experience, else only option is to get out after 2:30pm.

[siddheshb]

Originally Posted by parsh

Just putting up one snap of the location, this is at the time of mid-tide. But if you stay longer than 9:45am there, you have to drive car thru the tide, about 100 meters to get onto road in village, as we had to, quite an experience, else only option is to get out after 2:30pm.

Thanks @parsh, will look for your beach next time I am there! We also had a lovely time on the beach in Dapoli - check out Samara's awesome donuts and water splashes at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2141490

One point to note, by the way - tides keep changing through the day - since it's a combination of effect of both the moon and the sun, and the moon's rotation is NOT in sync with the sun. So be aware of that, and ensure you are aware of local tide times

[siddheshb]

For a detailed casualty and repair report, and the "price" of all the masti in Konkan, check my ownership thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post2887838

You will be very suprised

[amit_mechengg]

Amazing travelogue. I have been to Diveagar so many times, but never came across the caves which you snapped on the way. Where is it exactly.

I was just going to ask whether my 4X2 safari can go on the beach and then suddenly i read that your endy was 4X4 and yet stuck, so i will never ever dare to take any of my car on the beach

[220kmph]

You could have tried soaking the sand with sea water. It could have firmed up the sand a bit.

{That was actually one of the reasons we got stuck - the sand was mostly very dry.}

[siddheshb]

@amit, the caves are on your left, on NH17, on the way to Goa, near Mahad - I do not remember if it was just before or after Mahad!

If you want to get on the beach, try Dapoli - I have done beach riding there many a times, and never had problems. Diveagar, the main beach itself, seemed also very amenable to driving (and help should be a lot more readily available too - although in equal measure, the censure from locals will be!).

A friend thought this was a great business idea - allow tourists to ride on the beach and get stuck, and then help them get out - for a price of course All you need is a bunch of sturdy guys, and/or a tractor and winch.

That reminds me, anyone knows where I can buy a good winch?

@220kmph, yes, I guess we could have done that - but we would have needed a LOT of hard work carrying bottles of water up and down - and more importantly, the locals were vehement in their argument that wetter the sand, the softer it would become and sink the SUV even further.