Pumpkin Carving Event...what do you do?

[jagfish]

Every year I see the results of underwater pumpkin carving events...but never what goes into the planning, logistics and other tips to make it interesting and efficient.

Anyone want to share your recipe for success...?

Many thanks in advance

 

[jbd]

Everyone brings their own pumpkin. Its best to open them and clean them out on land. They are really quite bouyant and we usually put rocks in them to make them easier to take UW. Since we are in a quarry I prefer that the carving be done while hovering but still there is so much finning being done that the viz gets---well, screwed up.

In the past we brought the pumpkins up after the carving and once it gets dark light them with cylume sticks or lights. Take some on land photos and then back into the water and take UW photos. We leave the pumpkins on the platform and take off on a night dive, returning to the pumpkins which are then brought back to dry land.

Forgot to add that this year I will try to find a costume mask to wear during the dives.

 

[Wayward Son]

Its best to open them and clean them out on land.

Can't do that with my club, our rules state that they must be intact & unmarked at the start of the dive. Keeping them under control & not losing the parts you cut out (losing them is disqualifies you) is part of the challenge.

I've found that it works better to be seriously overweighted myself. It doesn't do any good at all to have an extra 10 lbs of lead in my goodie bag with the pumpkin, when I have to stay down while holding it after taking it out of the bag.

A small, sharp knife works better than a big one. It's real easy to cut yourself so take great car to avoid that. Figure out your design well b4 the dive so it's fixed in your mind how you're going to cut it.

This is a post I made about last year's contest:

We held our annual Pumpkin Dive at Morrison Spring, FL last month. This is a combination dive & cookout. Anyone who wants to can bring a pumpkin & enter. It's a 20 minute dive, only dive knives may be used. All pumpkin parts must be brought back & at least one piece if trash collected. All cutting must be done while diving, and no patterns may be drawn on the pumpkin.

Getting geared up:

At water's edge at the spring:

Post dive results (I never cut this image before, saw a picture of it & thought it looked doable while diving & a shark is a diving image. Should have chaged the shape of the tail, I don't like the sweeping away look):

All 9 entries:

Mine:

The Pumpkin That Looks Most Like George (George is our Zen guru technician, 78 years old):

The Pumpkin That Looks Most Like George, with George on the left, the carver on right:

I won a mask & snorkel for my shark pumpkin:

 

[BabyDuck]

on ours (ncdivers) last year, we did pre-clean the punkins. we went to a platform in the quarry. we had lead in the pumpkins for less floatieness. we wore costumes for the festivities.

i don't think i can attach a pic. feel free to go to ncdivers.com pic gallery & search 'pumpkin'...

 

[www.scubamazing.com]

Yeah if you can clean 'em before, it makes the dive a little better, but I'll admit cleaning them underwater is quite an experience.

I like the rule posted aboive that if you clean it underwater you have to keep very good track of the "pumpkin guts" don't just let them float off.

 

[jagfish]

Thanks for the input so far. I'm also wondering how much fun folks here in Japan would find this activity....guess you don't know until you try.

 

[MB]

I'm also wondering how much fun folks here in Japan would find this activity...

Maybe a contest for the pumpkin that looks most like Godzilla???

 

[jagfish]

There's a winner!

 

[ckharlan66]

as for cutting yourself....

I highly recommend those pumpkin carving kits as they are much safer.

I have done the dives with JBD and while we gut the gourds on land we do require the carving be done while neurtral. The pumpkin can be on a surface but the diver must be afloat.

Chad

 

[mlkco]

We do not carve our pumpkins underwater but we would be happy to set aside an area for underwater carved pumpkins.
Keene NH has the Guinness world record for the most carved and lit jack-o-lanterns in one place. Our record to date is 28,952. We will try to beat our own record on October 21. Keene is a city of about 30,000 people (not bad). This is a major fundraiser for our non-profits Including mine the Keene High School Girls Basketball Team. Check out our link www.pumpkinfestival.org . Boston tried to beat us but didn't even come close. This is a great community and this from a So.Cal transplant.