SOUTH JORDAN — Boaters squeezed themselves into giant pumpkins, to the amusement of hundreds, while competing for bragging rights at the 13th-annual regatta on Daybreak’s Oquirrh Lake, Saturday.
A pumpkin is everything a boat is not, according to one racer dressed like Batman — “soggy, mushy, heavy.” The giant bobbing squash, with a hole just inches from the surface of the water, is always in danger of taking on water.
Gulls and geese circled above the heads of families gathered at the terminal portion of the 67-acre lake. Bright blue skies and a warm breeze, the last gasps of summer, treated the crowd.
Some sat on the porches of their lakeside homes, bearing more resemblance to somewhere in Minnesota than the deserts of Utah, aside from the Bingham copper mine in the distance.
On the opposite bank, residents leaned over the balconies of the apartment buildings while others watched from grassy terraces, as the lake became a watery pumpkin-people soup.
People watch the LiveDAYBREAK Ginormous Pumpkin Regatta at Oquirrh Lake in South Jordan on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (Photo: Laura Seitz, Deseret News)
It takes a special community to get in “oversized Froot Loops and paddle around in 900-pound pumpkins,” says Dan Rodgerson, a competitor and organizer with LiveDaybreak. The man has competed in the races 10 years in a row and never won, he said.
Dressed as a giraffe, Rodgerson was neck and neck with Batman, but the superhero’s gourd-mobile pulled ahead to win the heat. As the hulking fruits neared the shore, volunteers in waders ferried the racers to a dock for an awkward extrication process.
Pumpkin paddling is not really a sport, Rodgerson said, “it’s really a lifestyle.” The golden ratio is around one part person to three parts pumpkin, discovered by trial and error over years of racing. Saturday, there were 25 racers competing in six giant pumpkins.
