| Wednesday What's New: Pumpkin Regattas |
|
|
| Written by Heleigh Bostwick Wednesday, 31 October 2007 | |||
 If rowing a 600-pound pumpkin down the river sounds like fun, you might be interested in competing in one of several annual pumpkin regattas that take place every year. From Oregon to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Nova Scotia, pumpkin regattas are catching on. I think it sounds like a blast, then again I’ve never been in a 600-pound pumpkin boat--could be a tiny bit um, slimy, so a full wetsuit would be in order. That factor however, doesn’t seem to deter the people who participate in pumpkin regattas at all. Most of those competing grow the giant pumpkins for fun. The seeds are started indoors in late April or early May and then transplanted outside when the weather improves. The soil is carefully prepared to ensure optimal growing conditions for the pumpkins. The pumpkins are carefully tended and coddled by their growers. When the pumpkins are fully grown they are removed from the vine and carved out to make a boat. The largest pumpkin boat in the City of Tulatin, OR regatta weighed in at 1,500 pounds. According to one participant in the Lake Pesaquid pumpkin regatta in Nova Scotia, Canada, the size of the opening must be just right and one false move, such as sitting in the wrong place inside the pumpkin, can cause the boat to sink. Amazing. |
|||
 |
