Celebrating 20 years of pumpkin paddling
Annual pumpkin regatta draws thousands to Windsor
Tony Wood, winner of the 2018 Windsor West Hants Pumpkin Regatta (singles), with a time of nine minutes and 48 seconds, took the lead early and didn’t look back.
It was his second time paddling in the regatta, and first time winning.
“The conditions were better than last year; we had a bit of tailwind, the sun was out, I didn’t find it too bad,” Wood said.
Wood defeated last year’s champion, Pumpkin Head, who gave Wood some sage advice last year.
“He’s my archrival,” Wood said with a laugh. “He’s super awesome, he’s a very supportive winner and loser depending on what year you catch him. I implemented some of his great tips this year.”
Both years he’s competed, Wood has paddled in the Tim Hortons pumpkin, which he calls ‘the doughnut.’
“I’ll definitely paddle again,” he said.
Wood has been training rigorously, although admittedly, not solely for the regatta, although it didn’t hurt.
“I train daily for health reasons, but it does lend itself to this race,” he said. “My brother-in-law and I built a calisthenics gym in my backyard, with kettle-bells, pull up bars, and more. And a lot of biking.”
Wood, who also own the Spoke & Note in downtown Windsor, said the regatta is a unique event that draws thousands to the area.
He said he’s concerned about what could happen to Lake Pisiquid as Highway 101 twinning discussions continue.
“It would be very sad if this was one of the last times we did this race because of this highway twinning,” he said. “I also care about the ecology, and I just hope that if we’re in so much a rush to push this through, that we can find a solution where the environment can be looked after and also have a lake to enjoy too.”
Making children happy
Alex Griffin, who came in second place in his second year participating, wearing a princess costume and wig, said his favourite part of the regatta was making children laugh and smile.
“The parade, and all of the kids come to see it, so it’s not the race for me, it’s about making all of the kids laugh,” Griffin said.
Griffin paddled the McAdoo’s Landscaping pumpkin.
“It was amazing; I didn’t make it across last year, I capsized,” he said. “All I wanted to do was get to the other side and I came in second.”
Griffin, who’s originally from England, lives in Wolfville. He’s lived in Nova Scotia on and off for about 10 years.
“I love it here.”
Quad Squad
Leah Early, 15, Cassie Horne, 15, Julia Hoogerwerf, 15, and Kerensa Johnson, 16, were part of the first quad pumpkin. They made it to the finish after briefly getting their giant pumpkin stuck on the bottom.
Hoogerwerf said it was hard work, but added that it felt good to make it across, especially after many prophesized that they wouldn’t make it across Lake Pisiquid.
“It was really hard to row the pumpkin because it was so heavy, it took a lot of muscle,” Hoogerwerf said.
For all four paddlers, who live in Windsor, this was their first time across the lake in a pumpkin, although they all have paddled canoes and kayaks before.
“This was a totally different experience,” Johnson said with a laugh.
There were definitely times where we were frustrated with each other,” Horne said. “But we worked through it.”
Their pumpkin was painted with a 1960s theme and all of the paddlers were wearing tie-dye outfits.
Lake Pisiquid
Windsor Mayor Anna Allen said she was thrilled to see the population of Windsor swell with visitors.
“People have come all the way from Australia; this is on some people’s bucket lists, it’s kind of extraordinary,” Allen said. “Winning the World’s Weirdest Sport probably helped too.”
She said the regatta keeps growing.
But still, Allen said she is concerned about the marquee event’s future, with the potential impact of the Highway 101 twinning project, which she says threatens to alter Lake Pisiquid.
“When you build your community around a man-made lake for 50 years, and then all of a sudden to have that torn away, totally threads the very fabric of what we built – our economic development, a pending housing development, we’ve got all kinds of businesses that promote the lake,” she said.
“We need to maintain our lake,” the mayor added. “We want an enhanced fish passage, but we think there’s technology today that can accommodate that.”
Nora Doran came to the pumpkin regatta for the first time with her family.
“We’ve always heard about it and just never had the opportunity to, but we were close by so we figured we would just take a look,” she said. “It was really great, fun for the kids.”
She said they’re planning to come back in the future, and come early enough to take in the parade.
“Seeing all of the boats was pretty neat, I mean wrapping your head around someone riding a pumpkin alone is something,” she said.