Pumpkin-eers put on a show in Moses Lake

Dennis Parr wins fourth consecutive edition of Pumpkin Regatta, in front of largest turnout ever

MOSES LAKE — Larger-than-ever crowds, out-of-town media, local artists, Herculean efforts by the competitors and beautiful sunshine: The fifth annual Pumpkin Regatta had it all.

All, that is, except a surprise ending. Dennis "Blue Nose" Parr won again, and his ultimate foe, Richard Teals, has to wait until next year.

"I don't know if there is going to be a next year," Teals' wife, Brenda, said Saturday after the race. "Not when you get beat by a non-motor,"

Teals, used to the status of silver medalist, suffered the humbling experience of taking third place, defeated by both Parr and Oregon's Lars Bergstrom, who swam (yes, swam) his name into the legends of this five-year race, beating out Teals' motored pumpkin.

"I have a lot of crow to eat," Teals admitted.

Around 2:30 p.m., Teals, the man nicknamed "Captain," arrived first to the dock behind the old Mighty Quinn in his boat, the Golden Hind II, ready to change history and beat Parr.

With all the grace of a one-legged pirate doing the Riverdance, Blue Nose Parr arrived at the starting point throwing water at the crowds, which earned him a few scattered boos.

Those who weren't booing were admiring the three-time winner's ship, an elaborate vessel complete with masts, flag and all the trappings of a bona fide pirate, parrot on shoulder included. It made it perfectly clear that those competing against Parr would have their hands full.

Perhaps that was the reason why only four entries made it to this year's competition. Besides Parr and Teals, there was Lars Bergstrom from Hood River, Ore., and Jason Page along Kyle Price from Kennewick and Tacoma respectively, competing as a duo.

The bad blood was evident, as Teals and Parr kept on throwing water at each other, Parr using a hose, Teals using a pump. Teals soon passed the pump over to Price and Page, who were closer to Parr. Bad idea, as Blue Nose aimed his pirate hose at them, alongside a few water balloons.

After the exchange of wet pleasantries, it was time to start the race. Parr and Teals were ready to go, and Bergstrom was ready to sink, as his ship disintegrated before the gun had even gone off. Gamely, he stayed afloat and waited for the race to start.

No ship? No problem. Bergstrom, the Mad Doctor, surprised everybody by taking a slim lead over Parr at the start of the race. The Price-Page boat, nicknamed The Booty, took an early third, with Capt. Teals filling out the field as a harbinger of what would be a most disappointing afternoon.

It was clear what the plan was for those seeking to unseat Parr. Teals instructed The Booty to hang back and wait for Blue Nose, who was now leading the race. Captain Teals, one-time winner and founder of the race, did not count on the fact that The Booty would start taking on water and require the help of a pumpkin-rescue team. So much for that plan.

Still, Teals kept on fighting, inspired perhaps by the enthralling performance of the Mad Doctor Bergstrom, whom, having lost his ship, and apparently his good sense, kept on swimming with pumpkins in tow and was holding on to second place.

The crowds followed every step of the race from the edge of Neppel Landing park. Used to having the race be only a bit more than a get-together among friends, the sight of handful after handful of people flocking to witness the competition was a welcome surprise. More than a hundred people came and watched as Teals, Parr and Co. put on a show in the normally calm waters of Moses Lake.

At the turn of the buoy near Neppel Crossing, Parr lengthened his lead and the Mad Doctor kept on putting American craftsmanship to shame by outracing the engine on Teals' pumpkin. Somewhere, Fulton was doing a half-gainer in his grave.

With The Booty out by the wayside and Teals worrying about the Mad Doctor taking the second place that had been rightfully his the past three years, Parr put pedal to the metal, heading back to the dock. Minutes later, lifting four fingers from his left hand to signal the length of his reign, Blue Nose arrived at the finish line to a chorus of applause.

The crowd really went into a bedlam when the Mad Doctor made his improbable feat official, swimming his way to second place and defeating Capt. Teals. As a final bit of bad luck for Teals, Parr met the Captain at the end by soaking him with his hose, and when Teals tried to protect himself, his umbrella flipped.

"It took a lot of dedication, a lot of hard work and a lot of rum," said he of the four wins in a row, holding on to a case of Captain Morgan from his ship. (It was empty.) "I hope now I can be called Admiral."

Teals, classier in defeat than many are in victory, handed his archrival the trophy, an orange Cinderella-style shoe, and did him one better, by knighting him as Sir Blue Nose.

"The curse is still there," Teals said of his streak of four years without wins. "We should outlaw gas motors." Of Bergstrom's second place, Teals minced no words, calling it "a super human effort."

While onlookers examined him to see if he had an "S" on his chest, Bergstrom said he was "very proud" of his silver-medal showing and has plans to return next year.

While Teals basked in the darkness of a hex that is beginning to take on Bambino-esque characteristics, Parr took some time to do some modest gloating. saying that Teals, Page and Price had focused on soaking him. The four-time winner paused for a second and then delivered a timely coup de grace to those wanting to vanquish him.

"It backfired on them, as usual."