"Fresh Start" - November 6, 2020

[MajordomoTom]

still hopelessly lost at sea.

purchased a 6 pack of Strongbow this afternoon, it hasn't helped yet.

[dk letter]

Add me to the LAS club!

[Bob cruise director]

Good evening
Our final count is 47 on the ship and 81 on the shore.

Making their way to the ship's bars are
zacmoretz and probably Aunt Norma
Jeremy
Matthew B
higgysue
ALS
and JAQT

And a bunch struggled to shore and replaced the sea water they swallowed with a libation from the tiki bar
Kay - who was there all along but I missed her
lbrary53
Billkatz
Nlobb
Eguinan
JoePickett
Homer
jimbo1 who was also there
Fkelly
RDaleHall
Mister Squawk
hunkra
wb93
Cynthia J
bskptkl
Wordsmith
Barbara K - and there is always room for you on the beach
burak
the Thurman8er
Bird Lives
eagle1279
and Richard

Good luck to all winning the mug

And again, thanks to all who served, those who had a spouse who served and those who had other family members who served. And a special thanks to the Viet Nam vets who never got the credit they deserved.

[KscX]

Stubbornly sticking to what may be a rabbit hole but manufacturing it into a submission. Ashore because I threw myself on it - I can’t adjust to regular time and need early to bed.

[Jeremy Smith]

Looks like a Romeo . . . . . cigar.

Even better if it’s a Cubano.

[MMac]

Ashore, barely.

[MajordomoTom]

to the new members of this forum and to metas ... some of them are easy and you can get them in a few hours.

others, like this one ... you need a 6 letter noun and you have 5 clues with numbers. I haven't solved it, and I likely will go to bed before the answer is posted, it's not easy. Next week is ... another week. And another puzzle.

[Fishoutowater]

Finally onshore after a nudge. Thanks for the help and a very clever puzzle this week! No mug for me but good luck to all.

[HeadinHome]

Well I was literally on the beach all day yesterday (Ocean Isle NC at 80 degrees) trying to work this one out. Several FRESH STARTS yesterday and today after getting home, but still completely stumped. But I did get a nice little nose-burn and some extra freckles.

[Kris Zacharias]

On shore. I noticed something right away upon solving the grid but it took quite a while for me to figure out how this related to the method for solving the puzzle.

[Jenny]

Not for me this week. But it looks like I'm in good company on the ship!

[Eric Porter]

I'm on shore with a little help. This was a hard one.

[Cosmo]

Unfortunately, I'm 0/2 on Matt's parenthetical number puzzles! I had a lot of promising ideas this week, but alas I'm stuck on the ship. Congrats to those who figured it out!

[WSJosh]

Still at sea, but heading to bed.

[whimsy]

My husband actually tried to help me with this one last night. I was shocked!

As I scrolled through the posts I came to yours and saw your name and avatar and the top part of the photo --- your husband gazing downwards.
I eagerly continued scrolling, expecting that he was holding little Byron, but no, it was the puzzle!

[hcbirker]

My husband actually tried to help me with this one last night. I was shocked!

As I scrolled through the posts I came to yours and saw your name and avatar and the top part of the photo --- your husband gazing downwards.
I eagerly continued scrolling, expecting that he was holding little Byron, but no, it was the puzzle!

We can’t hold little Byron because of Covid. But we did see him yesterday from six feet away! So cute!

[Abide]

I gave up on this one yesterday. No nudges requested or needed. Watching the Saints beat down Brady will keep me awake until the reveal tonight.

I've been working on tomorrow's Muggle Meta Monday which seems like a more productive diversion.

[TPS]

I gave up on this one yesterday.

Things I did this weekend instead of the WSJCC:
Went to the gym (twice)
Went on a 12 mile run
Finished reading “The Inner Game of Tennis”
Read 250 pages of “Walden”
Watched the UF/UGA game
Began a course on Coursera on the Magna Carta
Went to the driving range
Went and saw “Let Him Go”
Watched an episode of the Mandalorian and Fear the Walking Dead
The Daily Beast, LAT, and Pandora Blocks puzzles
I think that is most of it

[DrTom]

I am a novice lee helmsman here, but I believe I am ashore.

Well Bob is the cruise director, but my Dad was a Boatswain's Mate:


Piped Aboard.jpg

Consider yourself piped aboard! But remember, newest crew member buys drinks on liberty and with this crowd of rowdies it could be a substantial sum!

DrTom thanks for the warm formal welcome! It's been a lot of years since such honors were part of my experience as people came aboard or went ashore! I can tell by the hashmarks on your father's sleeve that he was in a lot longer than I was! I do understand the protocol about picking up the tab ashore, but thankfully the number of newbie muggles reported by the cruise director will soften the blow.

Heck he was in longer than almost everybody - his first captain was John Paul Jones!!! Glad to have you here and hope the experience is as positive as it has been for all of us.

[EmilyW]

I was going to submit a hail mary with what I thought was 30 minutes to spare, but the submit button is gone as well as the contest info so I guess I'm too late. Glad I didn't spend more time trying to solve the meta. I'm enjoying a Boulevard Plaid Habit on the boat in this 70 degree November weather instead.