Mission Spiritus: Completion of Phases 2 and 3

Phase two began strong. We packed out of Muqshin at 04:30 and logged 22km on foot by 11:00, despite significant sand features that made progress arduous and slow. Matters took a turn for the worse as we approached our predetermined rendezvous coordinates. Like with most things, in the desert, big problems occur through a compounding series of small mistakes. On this day we started with a new support crew of Abdul and Hussein. Routine was not established. Language barriers always create potential for misunderstandings. Add to that some Sat phone troubles and an injured knee that slowed progress, across an exceptionally barren landscape with little protection from bullying winds. As we walked, we considered these fact and made conservative decision to call it a day at the rendezvous point. We setup camp before sun was high and blowing sand became a problem. We arrived at the rendezvous point but there was no sign of the support crew. We waited an hour, still no sign. Winds were building. Sand was everywhere – in our mouths, eyes and equipment. Another 30-minutes and no sign of life on the vast horizon. As things deteriorated, we attempted to put up our emergency shelter to get out of the sun, but the wind threatened to shred it or carry it away. Finally, after a battle, we got the orange shelter somewhat settled and we wedged ourselves inside to wait. Four hours passed. VHF radio had no response. Satellite texts were unanswered. We assessed our supplies. Enough water for two days in the heat. A small pocket lighter to make a fire and keep warm overnight. At least we had time on our side! About 15:00 (3pm) we spotted Hussein standing on a dune, perhaps one kilometer away. Their truck was stuck in the sand and having managed through hardly passable terrain, they overcame engine trouble and punctured a tire which followed repeated sessions digging out of the sand. The day ended on a positive note as we extracted the vehicle and setup camp as the full moon rose in the east and the sun set in the west. Lots of lessons learned. We revisited our plans for backup communication and lost comms procedures as well as terrain management. That wont happen again.

Vehicle Repairs were successful. Routines are now well bedded in. Having managed through several challenging delays, we sound ourselves behind schedule and with little margin for further problems. As such, we picked up the pace, increasing our travel pace to target 5 km per hour whilst still including a short water break every 60 minutes. We streamlined our process for taking samples. Professor Billy is responsible for actual collection. Alan holds responsibility for managing the canister inventory, keeping us on track, and marking and sealing and storing the completed samples. I own data collection which includes capturing a record of date, time, GPS coordinates, wind strength and direction, and any other pertinent data. With our refined process we were able to complete the final legs of Phase Two in record time. Our original plan was to set Camp at the end of Phase Two, regroup and test, and then embark on Phase Three the next morning. But morale is high and there is work to be done, and recapturing a time buffer when possible is always helpful, so rather than pausing we brewed a quick cup of tea and set off immediately to commence Phase Three.

The team has officially completed Phase Three, with all objectives accomplished. The Phase was only three days in duration, but with the use of 4x4s for transportation we accomplished a great deal. We started the phase with four objectives on our slate: 1. We needed to acquire sand samples from wide variety of terrain environments, spanning approximately 500 km. Over the three days we collected 22 different samples. 2. We used this Phase to reposition the team from the corner of Oman’s vast northern desert and insert the team at the southern edge of the Wahiba Sands. 3. During this leg we needed to rendezvous with joining crew member Elisabeth, so we could complete Phase Four as a full team. 4. Our final objective, which seemed like a stretch, was to try to rendezvous with British Explorer Mark Evans and the Jewel of Arabia Expedition, which has been moving along a coastal route from north to south from Ras Al Hadd to Salalah. The Jewel of Arabia is a 30-day journey on foot, camel and 4x4 following the 1928 trail of British explorer Bertram Thomas. The goal is to promote Oman's rich biodiversity and objective to become a global green energy hub.