MEOW #66: Plane Sailing

[benchen71]

We're nearing the end of the first day of play, and here is the initial group of successful solvers:

oldjudge
Shmuel Schmell
Cindy Weatherman
Wendy S HeadinHome
DJB
Meg
BarbaraK
Mwoychick
Darth
Tom Wilson
SJMcK
Capn Rick
ChrisKochmanski
Hector
Chaddog
RPardoe
boharr
rjy
lbray53
DIS
Cindy Heisler
woozy
cwillmore
kymike
Mike D
Dave C
whimsy
Ergcat
ImOnToo
Jeremy Smith
Johnny Luau
Laura M
DrTom
jasonwestley
Gutman
Berge
Golem
CPJohnson
dplass

That's 39 solvers, which is excellent!

[MamaE]

Fun one! Cat out of the bag

[KayW]

Nice one!
Apparently I'm better at maths than I am at following directions, but the cat still managed to find its way out of the bag.

[CPJohnson]

Finally figured it out, confirmed on Crosshare. Thanks, Ben!

[vandono]

After flailing around a bit Wednesday and having trouble following the directions (which would be no surprise to my wife), I tried again tonight and figured it out. Finally freed the feline and I can get back to work (yay). Very clever and unique puzzle!

[benchen71]

Before I release the nudges, here is the solvers list update:

Tyrpmom
kieranjboyd
dot
MamaEllen
Idriss Z
KayW
BrennerTJ
vandono

(We're up to 47 now.)

[benchen71]

If your sailboat is lost at sea, here are some nudges that should get you back on track:

1. Completing the grid will be tricky in a few spots, because there are 6 entries that combine to form the meta answer instructions. You may need to use the downs to complete these.

2. Step one involves starting at (2, -3), so the first thing you will need to do is establish your coordinate system. Fortunately, there are a couple of hints in the grid to help you with this: 41 across and 58 down.

3. The very centre of the grid also provides assistance with setting up your coordinate system. If you haven't worked it out yet, the middle of 43 across and 35 down is the point known as the Origin (and it's an "O" representing "Origin" and the value "0") The "I"s in 35 down and 43 across also indicate "1"s, so you know which way the positive numbers go.

4. (2, -3) is the first letter in 59 across. From here, you're on your own!

[benchen71]

We have a few more solvers, straggling across the finish line (I'm picturing a yacht race, like the Sydney to Hobart...)

Tyrpmom
kieranjboyd
dot
MamaEllen
Idriss Z
KayW
BrennerTJ
vandono
Dow Jones
LisaT

for a grand total of 57.

And now on to the answer reveal...

[benchen71]

Here's the solution and explanation for "Plane Sailing":

So the solution was PYTHAGORAS.

Not all solvers made it to the end by following the path as it had been laid out, but that doesn't matter. A solve is a solve! Step 3 caused the most problem, I think. The allusion to visiting the Y-AXIS and thus the need to now visit the X-AXIS proved to be a bit too vague. But having both these words in the grid was doubly significant: they indicate the grid system, and they both provide a letter for the answer. Similarly, the ORIGIN was playing double-duty. And, of course, the end result of the path was a right-angled triangle!

My thanks the Josh (madhatter5) for hosting my puzzle this week!

[Meg]

I made the big mistake of assuming the triangle started with the P, so I couldn’t see the RAS at all. Thanks Ben for the graphic that explains it all.