Divers host underwater pumpkin carving

By JACOB DORAN / Bigfork Eagle

Think carving that perfect jack-o-lantern on your back porch is hard?

Try doing it while wearing a heavy metal tank on your back, with a single knife under the freezing waters of Flathead Lake.

The Mountain Sharks Dive Club's annual underwater pumpkin carving competition, held this year in Dayton, did just that as divers from all over took the plunge to fashion their best pumpkin art.

The event took place on Sunday, Oct. 12, with an air temperature of about 45 degrees and an average water temperature of 50 degrees. A total of five teams competed, with two divers per team.

Organizers found the new swim dock to be a perfect staging area for the event and subsequent festivities, which were previously held at Johnsrud Park on the Blackfoot River and last year in Salmon Lake. Cold moving water in the Blackfoot River and poor visibility in Salmon Lake were both reasons for moving the event to Dayton, where it is likely to be held again next year due to convenience.

Divers used dive knives to carve their pumpkins, some of which were secured in a mesh bag and anchored to the lakebed to allow divers to create their masterpieces from the buoyant orange gourds. No additional carving tools were allowed, and both the divers and pumpkins were required to be submerged before any incisions could be made.

Mountain Sharks Joe and Jerimy Crepeau took first place for their artistic representation of the Creature from the Black Lagoon. As their bounty, the Crepeaus received an Aqualung regulator and a Freestyle dive watch, which they earned in more ways than one.

"The best part of their win is that Joe had a complete drysuit flood half-way into the carving and was able to finish," MSDC vice president Bonnie Stelzenmuller said. "He was a little chilly when they got out to say the least!"

Second place went to Doug Topp and Wedge Warford for their carving of a winged bat creature, which earned them a PADI backpack with specialty manuals and a Hang-air for drying wetsuits. Third place, a dive light and hat, was awarded to Ania Szmorlinski and Kalin Warford for their giant pumpkin crab.

Other divers won a Suunto wrist compass, a Balanzza travel scale, a Genesis mask and an Akona signal tube.

"Even though it was cold everyone had a blast and all carvers got a prize," Stelzenmuller said. "The main comment was from those who had never done it"they couldn't believe how difficult it is. Not only are the pumpkins extremely buoyant, but it's harder to get the knife through the pumpkin underwater.

"Underwater pumpkin carving contests have been around for a long time and are held all over the world among divers. Our club decided to do it three years ago as a fun event for our members and as a sort of a "last hurrah" before the water gets too cold for all but the hardiest divers.

"The swim dock was a perfect venue and we even had a few of the sailors stop by to see what was going on. I think they thought we were crazy. I put a couple of fake severed arms and a skeleton on the bottom of the lake next to the dock, and I think everyone got a kick out of that. I only wish more members had made the trek up."

Mountain Shark Ken Clizbe, who photographed the event, described the divers as "a rugged bunch," many of whom were submerged for more than an hour as they completed the arduous task. In fact, two of the female divers showed their grit as well as their mettle by diving in wetsuits to prove that they were as tough as their male counterparts who dove in drysuits.

"It's great fun to see the artistic side of these divers as they compete for some great prizes," Clizbe said. "The focus of the dive teams to accomplish their carvings was amazing and many said they didn't even see me taking photos of them while they carved. The worst part of this whole affair is getting out of the water and all the wet gear. The air was brisk and it was a hurried effort to get into dry clothes."

Clizbe said the event has gotten better each year, along with the prizes that divers compete for, for food they enjoy after the dive and the camaraderie that characterizes the event. Next year, plans are underway to expand the event with an underwater haunted tour of the lakebed.