The town of Goffstown, NH has a Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off and Regatta every October, sponsored and run by the Main Street Program and MANY town volunteers.
There are lots of events held during this great annual weekend, including the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off. Some of the huge vegetables weigh in at over 1,500 pounds each!
There is a Punkin' Chunkin' contest (where pumpkins are catapulted at targets in the river), the Pumpkin Carving contest and a couple of pumpkin races, plus lots of activities for the kids.
There is a Mini-Pumpkin race on the Piscataquog River one afternoon of the festival. Participants can purchase one or more of the 500 numbered mini-pumpkins that will participate in the race. The first few mini-pumpkins earn prizes as they cross the finish line, amid much cheering and encouragement from the peanut gallery all along the banks of the river. One year we (team mcshea105) won a mountain racing bike and another year we won $200.
The culminating event of the annual festival is the infamous Giant Pumpkin Regatta, held on Sunday afternoon.
Top town officials participate by getting into the hollowed-out and decorated giant pumpkins, and navigating up and down a stretch of the Piscataquog River. They face various obstacles and challenges before they reach the FINISH LINE.
It is all great fun and both races (the Regatta and the Mini-Pumpkin Race) take place in the same part of the river that is near where this cache is hidden.
Since the Related Web Page has been removed by the town of Goffstown, we have shown the final coordinates below in the "Additional Waypoints" section. Going there gives you the solved coordinates and that is your reward for reading this far in the cache description. Cache on!
Now for the puzzle to determine the final cache coordinates:
N 43 AB.CDE
W 071 FG.HIJ
A = The 3rd number in the year that Jim Beauchemin came up with a WILD idea and approached the Main Street Program.
B = The number of giant pumpkins that were turned into boats and raced on the river in the first year, minus 3.
C = The number of the month of the year in which the pumpkin festival is held annually, minus 10.
D = Number of letters in the last name of the person who dressed as Glenda the Good Witch and painted her pumpkin pink for the first race, minus 1.
E = The official title of the person who wore a piggy mask in the first race, minus 8.
F = Last name of the person who dressed in yellow oilskins to represent New England fishermen for the race, minus 7.
G = Number of letters in the name of the official garb of the winner of the first Regatta trophy, minus 6.
H = The number of words in the title of a supporting organization, who among many other sponsors has made this the signature event for Goffstown Main Street.
I = Up to what number of pumpkin boats have been raced each year since that first year, displaying a wide range of costumes and themes each year, minus 7.
J = Number of letters in this cache owners geoname.
PLEASE REPLACE THE CACHE CONTAINER EXACTLY AS YOU FOUND IT.
CONGRATS to 3TandMe for their F-T-F!!!
To check your solved coordinates, you can do so at the following location.
Check your solution
