To commemorate his 60th trip around the sun, Duane Hansen set a new world record. Hansen, of Syracuse, Neb., grew a pumpkin that clocked in at 846 lb. (and appropriately named it Berta). He hollowed it out to create a makeshift boat.
At 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 27, Hansen jumped in his pumpkin and launched from the Missouri River boat ramp in Bellevue, Neb. Eleven hours and 38 miles later, he docked in Nebraska City, Neb. Hansen’s 38 miles afloat in his orange vessel eclipses the previous record of 25.5 miles, which was set in 2018 by a man who paddled from North Dakota to Minnesota, according to Guinness World Record.
“I’ve been dreaming about this,” Hansen says. “This has been a five-year journey to get a pumpkin that’s big enough.”
What was the biggest challenge of the journey? “Not swamping it,” Hansen told News Channel Nebraska.
Gourdspeed Duane, gourdspeed.
