By Tim Clifford

Some Halloween traditions are of the spooky and spine tingling variety. Other traditions, such as the annual Underwater Pumpkin Carving Contest held on Redondo Beach, are geared more towards testing technical skills and coordination than giving a fright.

Setting out from a small beach near Salty’s and Mast Center on Sunday, Oct.26 nearly 20 local divers hit the water fully geared and with Jack-o-lanterns in hand just after 1 p.m. Hosted by Federal Way’s Underwater Sports, prizes ranged from underwater flash lights to scuba fins for place holders in the contest.

The rules of the contest each year are simple: each contestant is given 30 minutes to carve their pumpkin while completely submerged. No pre-contest cuts or stenciling are allowed. Finally all contestants are required to dive in groups of two, in accordance with the “buddy system” that PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) promotes to ensure the safety of all divers.

“I can see pumpkin guts floating out there, so we know that someone is having some success” commented Erica Hersh, a coordinator for the Mud Sharks diving club, minutes after the clock started on the contest.

Possibly the trickiest aspect of the contest occurs before any of the participants even get wet: dealing with the buoyancy of a pumpkin. Each diver had to come up with a means of beating the physics of a pumpkin that constantly wants to float to the surface. Methods varied from creative uses of anchors and cord to using weighted crabbing bags that were large enough to fit a pumpkin and carving tools into.
“It was a little more buoyant than I was expecting, especially when I gutted the thing and it was still floating” said Jackson Schaefbauer, the youngest diver in the contest at 13 years old who teamed up with his father Brad.

While it may sound simple enough to weigh the orange tinted squash down there are considerations to be kept in mind. Fully rigged each diver is carrying at least 40-50 pounds of gear, often more, on their body with the air tanks, BCD (buoyancy compensator device), and weight belts on. Deciding a proper weight for the pumpkin is not just a matter of what will sink it but also what can each diver swim out and back to shore with.
Another issue facing the divers was the carving action under water. Since people experience weightlessness in water their actions are also slower and more sluggish. This makes it difficult for carving fine lines and precise details beneath the surf.

“Master Class” certified divers are not allowed to participate as they would clearly have the upper hand. So while two expert divers were on hand to act as a rescue crew should anything go wrong many of the participants were newly certified to the sport.
Underwater Sports and PADI have confirmed that the tradition will be in full swing next year on Redondo Beach for any readers who are interested in trying their hand at the contest.