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Wednesday December 04, 2024

Man breaks world record by paddling pumpkin for 45.57-miles

Gary Kristensen breaks Guinness World Record by bringing out his 1,214-pound pumpkin named "Punky Loafster"

By Web Desk
November 01, 2024
A representational image of pumpkins in a field. — AFP/file
A representational image of pumpkins in a field. — AFP/file

A man in Oregon breaks a world record by bringing his 1,214-pound pumpkin out and taking it into the Washington River for a 45.57-mile paddling journey. 

Since 2011, a man named Gary Kristensen has been growing giant pumpkins and started transferring his creations into boats in 2013 to participate in the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta, a competition which he has won consecutively for the past four years, according to UPI. 

Kristensen has had a longtime goal of breaking the Guinness World Record for the longest paddling journey by a pumpkin boat and to achieve his dream, he hollowed out his pumpkin named Punky Loafster to break the record. 

His journey of 45.67 miles down the Columbia River took him more than 26 hours, the last record being about 39 miles. 

After he finished his journey, the Oregon-based man stated that his journey was complicated by wind and unstable waves of water. 

"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."

Funnily enough, Kristensen wrote the words “it’s real” to ensure the onlookers that they are not hallucinating and that it is an actual pumpkin boat that is paddling the waters.