Watch the winner of this year's Pumpkin Regatta paddle a giant pumpkin across a Canadian lake

Folks in the town of Windsor West in Canada welcome autumn a little – ahem – differently.

Each year, they scoop the insides out of a fleet of giant pumpkins and paddle them 500m across Lake Pesaquid in the annual Windsor West Hants Pumpkin Regatta.

The title was hotly contested last week, with local man Chip Peterson taking out the top spot. Randy Hussey was there to capture his moment of glory in a video (above) that was uploaded to Facebook shortly after.

Now in its 18th year, the quirky race was started by the Dill family – who are credited with propagating the world's biggest pumpkin variety, Dill's Atlantic Giant – in a bid to boost tourism in the tiny Nova Scotia town.

A whopping 8000 spectators reportedly turned out to take in this year's event, with 44 pumpkin vessels setting sail (some occupied by a solitary sailor, others – somehow – by two) in the competition's many events.

The pumpkins are weighed in a separate ceremony – some weighing in at more than 400kg – before they become elaborately decorated vessels. A number of them are even sponsored by local businesses.