Just when it seemed like there were no more Willie the Whaler ads to be found and only one left to post I found this one that I hadn't seen before. Clearly what this means is that I can't count on doing a simple text search of the New Yorker for Willie ads - I am going to have to go through every issue between May 1940 and December 1965 (at least) to see if there are any previously undiscovered Willies.
Which means I have to review a total of 48 issues per year times 25 years (more or less) for a total of 1200 issues of the New Yorker.
This could take awhile.
So what's ole Willie up to in this May 5, 1940 issue of the New Yorker? He seems to have fallen off The Wanderer while hanging from the "dolphin striker" defined by Your Dictionary as:
A small vertical spar under the bowsprit of a sailboat that extends and helps support the martingale.
Which begs the question: what's a bowsprit and a martingale???
Bowsprit - a large, tapered spar extending forward from the bow of a sailing vessel, to which stays for the masts are secured
Picture of bowsprit:
Martingale - Nautical Any of several parts of standing rigging strengthening the bowsprit and jib boom against the force of the head stays.
Which begs the question - what is a jib boom and a head stay?
You're on your own.
The fact that Willie was on the dolphin striker in the first place is an indication that the last thing he needs right now is a free tank of the bubbly. Probably the skipper decided to let him rest up there on the Wanderer's life saver until he sobers up.