Think carving a pumpkin is hard? Try carving one underwater! On October 23, 2016 at Stonington Point, SECONN Divers gathered for a session of underwater pumpkin diving at 6:30pm.

Corey Leamy, a graduate student of UCONN at Avery Point says, “This was my third underwater pumpkin carving. I love the challenge that it presents.”

The underwater pumpkin carving event began eight years ago as Ryan Patrylak, Dive Instructor and rescue diver, explains, “I organized one almost 8 years ago for UConn and SECONN, and I have kept organizing one since.”

Underwater pumpkin carving offers an opportunity that excites many. Leamy commented, “As an annual event, there’s always a lot of hype before the event…for me the most exhilarating part is really when everyone is getting out of the water. There’s always lots of laughter and shared stories about floating pumpkins and lost pumpkins. Carving the pumpkin is awesome, but sharing the experience is the most exhilarating part for me.”

Danielle Boshers, a graduate student at UCONN at Avery Point, said, “The most exhilarating part of the dive was trying to carve my pumpkin and stay steady while the swells were rocking me all over the place. I’ve done a few night dives before but this was a whole new challenge unlike anything I had ever experienced before.”

Carving a pumpkin above water can be tricky. Due to the different conditions, there are more challenges to be conquered. Leamy said, “The actual pumpkin carving was trickier for me this year. I decided not to pre-hollow my pumpkin, and intact pumpkins are super buoyant and a little hard to handle. But once I got situated, it was relatively easy. People even identified my carving as a shark!”

In addition, “Pumpkins are a little cumbersome on land. They become quite unwieldy in the water. So submerging takes some finesse,  but with your buddy’s help it’s quite easy. You can carve anywhere really, but it’s helpful if you’re deep enough to escape the rise and fall of the surge. This year I didn’t swim out far enough (mostly because my pumpkin kept trying to float away with every movement I made), so it was a bit of a roller coaster ride due to a heavy surge. I had a rock locked between my calves to aid in keeping a stationary position,” said Leamy.

In regards to the conditions, Patrylak said, “Weather always seems to pick up just in time for the dive.  The past four years have been windy and create an exciting experience.”

Past experiences bring Leamy to life despite its challenging conditions. She said, “Last year the conditions were pretty rough…the beach we were at was shallow for a fair distance and the waves were breaking the entire way. I dropped down to start and a wave picked me up and tumbled me like a piece of laundry in a washing machine…that was the pumpkin carving that I cheated and carved it on the beach. A couple people managed to carve theirs underwater…but I decided it was safer on land. The first year was one of my first open water dives and my first night dive…and it was definitely one of the moments that I knew I was going to fall in love with the sport.”

All in all, the turnout proved to be good. Boshers said, “This was my first SECONN event outside of the monthly presentations but I was impressed by the number of people who showed up despite the cold and windy conditions.”

Patrylak commented, “any time a group of divers gather to go diving is a good turnout.  Attendance typically alternates between large and small groups.  When I was an undergraduate at UConn, we used to have far more people in attendance.  The issue is trying to find a date where it does not interfere with family gatherings, academic obligations, Halloween parties and people who either work nights or early the following day.”

Leamy said, “we had an awesome turnout tonight, not necessarily due to the number of people, but because of the enthusiasm shown towards diving. The majority of the divers today were recently certified (within the last year) – one couple even drove from Massachusetts.”