Gourd big or gourd home: Pumpkin paddler looks to draw attention to Conn. River with record attempt

ABOVE and BELOW: Florence resident Dave Rothstein hollows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt.

ABOVE and BELOW: Florence resident Dave Rothstein hollows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt. STAFF PHOTOS/DAN LITTLE

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt.

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt.

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hollows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a record attempt.

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hollows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a record attempt. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt.

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin with the assistance of Joe Sasen at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt.

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin with the assistance of Joe Sasen at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin with the assistance of Joe Sasen at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt.

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin with the assistance of Joe Sasen at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt.

Florence resident Dave Rothstein hallows out a giant pumpkin at Adhesive Applications, where the pumpkin was weighed, Friday afternoon in Easthampton. Rothstein hopes to paddle the pumpkin down the Connecticut River in a world record attempt. STAFF PHOTO/DAN LITTLE

By DOMENIC POLI

Staff Writer

Published: 11-08-2023 6:51 PM

If you wake up on Saturday morning and see a man paddling a pumpkin down the Connecticut River or the Deerfield River, don’t fret — you aren’t hallucinating. It just means the conditions are right for Dave Rothstein to try to break a Guinness World Record while also drawing attention to the watershed he loves.

Rothstein, who lives in Florence, has been preparing to launch his humongous hallowed-out gourd near Stillwater Bridge in Deerfield, determined to float to the confluence with the Connecticut and then head south to Holyoke to complete a 42-mile journey. It appears Duane Hansen, of Nebraska City, Nebraska, holds the record for longest distance by pumpkin boat, going 37.5 miles in 2022. A Missouri man reportedly paddled more than 38 miles in a 1,200-pound pumpkin down the Missouri River in October, but Rothstein said Guinness World Records has not yet certified that feat.

“I’d have to go over 39 [miles],” Rothstein said.

Harvard University senior Benjamin Chang in October paddled across the Charles River and back again in a roughly 1,500-pound pumpkin, but Rothstein said he got his idea from the annual Pumpkin Regatta in Goffstown, New Hampshire.

He got a 1,024-pound pumpkin, which placed second in the Big E’s heaviest pumpkin contest, donated by Pete Thayer of Blandford. Rothstein hallowed out the gourd and reweighed it at Adhesive Applications — an Easthampton manufacturer of pressure-sensitive adhesive film, PE foam and transfer tapes — because the business has a scale big enough. He initially planned to launch into the river on Friday but moved the date to Saturday due to weather forecasts and other considerations.

“I don’t want to win a Darwin Award for this one,” he said, referring to the tongue-in-cheek honor named after evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin and unofficially bestowed upon people who contribute to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool by dying in a spectacularly stupid way. “But, on the other hand, it’s such a wonderful opportunity to promote the Connecticut River Watershed.”

Rothstein, 55, said he will make a “game-time … morning-of decision” regarding whether to launch.

Rebecca Todd, who on Oct. 10 took over as the Connecticut River Conservancy’s executive director, said she hadn’t heard about Rothstein’s plan but voiced support for it.

“I would say, ‘Bully for Dave.’ That’s wonderful effort,” she said. “I applaud anyone who’s trying to raise awareness about the importance of and the health of the Connecticut River.”

Todd mentioned she would like to plan some type of pumpkin regatta for the Connecticut River over the summer.

“He beat me to it,” she said.

Rothstein is a wildlife biologist and environmental attorney by profession, a sculptor and photographer by passion, and a paddler by hobby.

“I love canoeing,” he said. “But I’ve never been in a round boat before, let alone a pumpkin.”

The Connecticut River flows 410 miles from the Canadian border to the Long Island Sound in Connecticut. Its watershed reportedly includes at least 2.4 million residents spread across 400 communities. It provides drinking water for millions and supports recreational uses and important fisheries.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly described how the 1,024-pound gourd placed in the Big E’s heaviest pumpkin contest. The pumpkin, grown by Blandford resident Pete Thayer, placed second.