17th Annual Extreme Sports Scuba Underwater Pumpkin Carving

Does anyone else feel like this year is just flying by? We’re already in the middle, technically more toward the end of October. Where has the month and year gone? Yes, that sounds so cliché but it’s true. This past Sunday was the 17th Annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest. The weather was perfect. The day was Partly Sunny and topped out at 67 degrees.

When everyone arrived it was time to get signed up, geared up, and the pumpkins down to the water. Rules stated that the pumpkins couldn’t have any markings on them and they had to be whole (not gutted). And no electric knives were allowed, haha!

Chloe Lake

Tori Willoughby and Aerielle Cupp

The start time was 1 pm but we got a late start. Sometimes that happens.

Joe Jacquinet kept getting his pumpkin played with or taken away from him by Sisco (& Pete). At one point Sisco pushed his pumpkin away from him and then took off toward shore. (No video but boy wouldn’t that have been fun!)

This is definitely a fun time for our new Junior Divers. It is especially a great bonding experience for the junior divers and their parents! Pictured are Justin Walkinshaw and Kennedy Bandy and Tori and Mark Willoughby. Cailee Lake and Tucker Cupp are also new junior divers who participated in this year’s pumpkin carving.

The water was a refreshing 68 degrees.

Once the contest got started, the contestants had 45 minutes or a tank pressure of 500 psi, whichever came first. This is what happens underwater during a pumpkin carving contest. Everyone has different approaches and different ideas on how to carve the pumpkins. A pumpkin has a lot of air in it so it makes the diver extra buoyant and they have to come up with ways to get themselves and their pumpkins underwater.

While you’re carving, you have to figure out somewhere to put the pumpkin top or you just might lose it.

Some of the remnants of pumpkins floating all around the divers as they carved and on the surface.

Meanwhile, back up on land…

Anissa Parrish and Aerielle Cupp

We like food. I’ve mentioned this many many times before.

Dan La Due

There was a fishbowl drawing. Proceeds went to Divers Alert Network.

Ed Brewer and Shirley Mann

Once all divers/carvers were out of the water, then came time for the judging. Pumpkins were judged by the carvers.

1st Place went to Chris Parrish; 2nd Place went to Mike Steele; 3rd Place went to Cailee Lake; Best Effort went to Justin Walkinshaw; Ugliest Pumpkin went to Tucker Cupp

Before you know it, this year will be over and we’ll roll around to next year’s underwater pumpkin carving. If you weren’t able to make it this year, we sure missed you! We hope to see you next year!

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