Shelburne's 1st place pumpkin paddler grew up watching racers in Windsor

Ryan Foley had one goal in mind as he waded into the water for Saturday's pumpkin regatta in Shelburne, N.S.

He just wanted to stay afloat for a couple of minutes.

Instead, the pumpkin paddler took home gourd goldin the 350-metre race, held for the first time on the South Shore.

Foley, who lives in Shelburne, grew up watching pumpkin racersin Windsor before the beloved traditionwas cancelled in that community earlier this year due to a lack of water inLake Pisiquid.

Foley paddled past four other competitors to take home bragging rights.

"It was certainly a lot of fun," he told CBC Radio's Maritime Noon. "All five of us are pretty close friends and we were kind of laughing as we were paddling together."

Listen to the full interview with Ryan Foley here: