Getty Image / Wesley Lapointe / AFP
Last year, a farmer from Nebraska set a Guinness World Record by paddling 38 miles down the Missouri River inside of an 846-pound pumpkin. Steve Keuny of Missouri took notice of that and told himself he could crush that world record by paddling in an even bigger and more awesome pumpkin.
And he did. He carved out a spot to sit in his 1,293-pound pumpkin, tossed on a wetsuit, and launched his pumpkin from the Lewis and Clark Park at Kaw Point bound for Napoleon, Missouri for an 8-9 hour paddle.
The world record at hand isn’t just the longest distance floated/paddled in a pumpkin, it’s also doing it in the heaviest pumpkin. And what makes this particularly interesting is the choice of river. The Missouri River is heavily trafficked by river barges and there are numerous dangerous currents. A 1,293-pound pumpkin isn’t the easiest marine vessel to maneuver, or so I would assume.
But that didn’t stop Steve Keuny from rolling up his sleeves and getting after the new pumpkin paddling world record:
Pumpkin Paddling World Record On The Missouri River
Steve Keuny is acutely aware of Duane Hansen’s 2022 world record for paddling his 846-pound pumpkin down the Missouri River. He also knew that Hansen had zero legroom in his 846-pound gourd that he grew in his own garden and it made that paddle miserable.
Keuny told KCUR that his pumpkin paddle wouldn’t be as painful as the pumpkin-paddling forebears of the Missouri River. He said “There’s a little bit more leg room, but it is going to be cramped, that’s for sure.” His pumpkin has a whopping 13ft6in circumference! That’s plenty of paddling and leg room.
Steve went on to say they carved up the pumpkin after floating it in the river to test how it would balance out. Keuny said “”We test floated it before we carved it so we would know which end wanted to be up. Once we figured that out, we marked it, made the hole at the center.” He said it took them 45 minutes to scoop out all of the pumpkin seeds inside.
Every detail of this world record attempt was considered from water temperature to barge traffic. There were contingency plans in place for various disaster scenarios. And they mapped out the projected time which ranged from 4.5 hours (at best) to 12 hours (at worst).
And according to NPR’s KCUR, there was a paddle buddy on hand to document Steve Keuny’s pumpkin paddle world record.
Should you ever find yourself thinking there’s nothing fun to do in the world. Just remember there’s nothing stopping you from carving out a massive pumpkin and paddling down a river to enter your name in the record books for all of eternity.