A guy in Oregon set a new world record by hollowing out a giant pumpkin, and paddling it more than 45 miles down a river.
The longest journey by paddling a pumpkin boat is 45.67 miles, and was achieved by Gary Kristensen, in Oregon on October 12th.
Kristensen has grown giant pumpkins since 2011. In 2013, he carved his first boat-sized pumpkin to compete in the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta. But in 2024, he finally grew a pumpkin large enough for this record attempt.
The pumpkin, dubbed Punky Loafster weighed an impressive 1,224 pounds before he carved it into a boat and had a circumference of 169 inches – nice!
Kristensen said his journey was complicated by wind and unstable waters.
“There were 30 to 35 mile per hour winds about four or five miles into our trip,” he told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “We started at Bonneville Dam, and the waves were pretty intense coming over the top of the pumpkin. I was filling up with water.”
His 45.67-mile journey down the Columbia River took him more than 26 hours and broke the previous record of about 39 miles.
[UPI] [YouTube: Guinness World Records]
