"Seascapes Down Under" by Cap'n Rick

[MarkWoychick]

Very nice mechanism, grid, and fill, @Cap'n Rick! Impressive and fun to solve - thank you

[whimsy]

Finally sorted it out with the nudge, and I'll say that I'm the exact opposite of 51A and its clue!

[Cinny]

Crossed the moat. Thanks, Cap'n Rick. Good one.

[Dplass]

With Ben's approval I am releasing the following early nudge to help solvers get started:

Sigh.... I'll take it....

Start by identifying the shorter words that appear "Down Under" the C's in the grid (what I keep referring to as "sea legs").

.... *gasp*.... (what was I not thinking!)

EDIT: Solved confirmed. I so bloody can't believe I didn't see the nudge. A thousand dope slaps. Great puzzle. Very nicely crafted. I didn't say anything.

Ironically I DID see the nudge and didn't and don't know what to do with it. Wah. Not a great meta week for me (0 for 4ish)

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 3 saw ten more Muggles successfully crossing the MOAT:

woozy
Dow Jones
DJB
MarkWoychick
Carolyn
whimsy
Cinny
CPJohnson
Snood
dplass

Thanks everyone for solving! Just make sure that that wooden structure over water you're traversing is a drawbridge and not a plank!

[Dplass]

Day 3 saw ten more Muggles successfully crossing the MOAT:

woozy
Dow Jones
DJB
MarkWoychick
Carolyn
whimsy
Cinny
CPJohnson
Snood
dplass

Thanks everyone for solving! Just make sure that that wooden structure over water you're traversing is a drawbridge and not a plank!

Lol, thanks for the promotion (from hapless attempter to solver) and for the puzzle!

[Cap'n Rick]

Okay, we need to get a few more solvers across the MOAT or Ben may never ask me to be guest constructor again!

So, here are the Nudges in order of increasing blatancy:

Start by finding the shorter words that appear "Down Under" the "C's" in the grid (what I keep referring to as "sea legs").

Look for other clues that also fit the shorter words found "Down Under" the "C's".

Cap off the first letters of the four shorter words (in grid order) with a "C" to get the first part of the answer.

Cap off the first letters of the four other answers (in grid order) with a "C" to get the second part of the answer.

Add the first part of the answer to the second... oh, never mind!

Good luck everyone, and I hope you're feeling better, Ben!

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 4: Two more Muggles safely crossed the MOAT bringing our total to 34:

Gutman
Jeremy Smith

[KayW]

OMG. I needed every one of the remedial nudges to get this but what an amazing construction.

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 5: Four more Muggles crossed the MOAT to bring our final total to 38:

KayW
LindaPRmaven
Spid4567
CromsFury

Thanks everyone for solving!

[CromsFury]

Me, yesterday, rushing across the moat:

[Cap'n Rick]

And now for the big reveal...

Yes, it's the "Coral Coast" - a beautiful section of Western Australia with plenty of fabulous-looking "seascapes"! Should I ever get the chance to head "Down Under", I'll be sure to add this area to my itinerary.

I think Ben's image above nicely sums up the solving mechanism. I thought the puzzle might play a little difficult for folks, and I tried to provide some solving help by symmetrically placing the four C-words going Down as well as the four synonyms going Across. I don't know if my repeated references to "sea legs" were any help, but that's kinda the way I saw those shorter words "down under".

I'm very glad that I could help @benchen71 this week, and I wish him a speedy recovery and a quick return to the castle surrounded by his MOAT!

Cap'n Rick

[CromsFury]

While I eventually got there, initially I went DEEP "C-fishing" and noticed the following:

oLds
rAft
aNon
lEan

Which led me to the lovely LANE COVE


Eventually I got to the Coral Coast, I just took the scenic route.

[Al Sisti]

Outstanding construction!