The Darwin Beer Can Regatta was conceived in 1974 by two local businessmen, Paul Rice-Champan and Lutz Frankenfeld, as a way to clean up beer cans littering the city’s streets. The inaugural event had 63 boats and attracted about 22,000 people, which was about half of the city’s population at the time. By the 1980s, the regatta had about 18 classes of vessels, including motorized boats.
The regatta was organized by the Darwin Regional Tourism Association until 1978, when Darwin’s Lions Clubs took over, and the event received its current name. Until roughly the mid-1990s, the regatta was more of a drinking festival, but over the past decades, it has developed into a family-friendly event with activities for all ages.
The beer can race is the central event of the Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta. Participants use thousands of empty beer and soft drink cans, plastic bottles, and milk cartons to make their boats. It can take up to 30,000 cans to build a boat, although most vessels are smaller than that and require about 2,500 cans.
The regatta’s official website has a boat construction guide for those who are new to the event, but creativity is encouraged. Any hull design is welcome, as long as it is deemed safe and the vessel meets the requirements. According to the rules, empty drink containers have to provide at least 90% of the boat’s flotation. The outer hull must be made from cans and at least two thirds of them have to be uncovered and visible. Specific events may have additional rules and requirements; it is allowed to convert boats according to the rules of each event so that they can participate in multiple races.
It should be noted that the boats are not tested for seaworthiness prior to the event, and some of them inevitably fall apart during the race, which is a traditional part of the entertainment. Because of this, everyone on board must wear a proper flotation jacket.
Along with the races, the program of the event includes many other fun activities, including a novelty hat competition, a flip-flop-throwing contest (or, as Australians call it, thong trowing), sandcastle building competitions, kids running races, treasure hunts, tug-of-war, stilt races, kayak races, beach relays, and more.
Since the Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta is run by a voluntary nonprofit organization, it gives back to the community by choosing a new beneficiary every year. Past beneficiaries have included Legacy NT, CareFlight, St. John Ambulance, Mindil Beach Surf Life Saving Club, the NT SES Volunteers Association, Asthma Foundation NT, the Darwin Volunteer Coast Guard, Cancer Council NT, and Helping People Achieve (HPA).
Every year, the Beer Can Regatta attracts over 15,000 people to Darwin’s Mindil Beach. It is a major tourist attraction and one of the most popular events Northern Territory.
Photo: beercanregatta.org.au
