A Missouri man has set a new Guinness World Record for the longest journey by a pumpkin boat. Steve Kueny from Lebanon, Missouri spent almost 11 hours on the Missouri River aboard his 1,208-pound pumpkin boat named Huckle Berry. He began his journey at 7:30 a.m. in Kansas City, Kansas and arrived in Napoleon, Missouri at 6:18 p.m. Kueny was accompanied by the Paddle KC Paddling Club and half a dozen other boats to ensure his safety. Inside the carved-out pumpkin, Kueny described the experience as cold and slimy. Preliminary calculations estimate that Kueny traveled over 39 miles during the journey.

Kueny began planning for this adventure in February and has always had a passion for being out on the water and growing giant pumpkins. He grew Huckle Berry himself using Dill’s Atlantic Giant, the only pumpkin species that can grow so large. After picking the pumpkin two weeks ago, Kueny spent about 45 minutes scooping out all the seeds and then tested its floatability before carving it. Despite not having a chance to test the pumpkin boat before his record-breaking journey, Kueny remained optimistic.

The Paddle KC Paddling Club implemented safety measures to protect Kueny during his journey, including checking water temperature, the speed of the water, and marking multiple ramp access points. The club hoped to maintain a speed of 4 1/2 miles per hour, but acknowledged that factors like eddies could affect the duration of the trip. All evidence of Kueny's achievement, including witnesses, GPS data, time stamps, video footage, and photographs, will be submitted to Guinness World Records for verification. This isn't the first time someone has attempted a pumpkin boat journey.

In 2022, Duane Hansen from Nebraska set the previous Guinness World Record for pumpkin paddling in his 846-pound pumpkin, breaking all previous records. In 2016, Rick Swenson made a 25-mile trip from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Oslo, Minnesota. The use of pumpkins as vessels has been seen before, such as a man from Tennessee who grew a 910-pound pumpkin in 2019 that floated, and a small town in Illinois hosting 500-pound pumpkin boat races at their festival. For Kueny, this record-breaking journey is simply a result of his sense of adventure and his love for giant pumpkins. Despite the cold, cramped, and slimy conditions inside the pumpkin boat, he found it to be a good way to spend a Monday morning. Now, he awaits official verification from Guinness World Records to solidify his place in the annals of great explorers.