Aussie 'pirates' beat US marines, army engineers to win Darwin's Beer Can Regatta
A homemade boat decorated with hanging empty beer cans has taken a dozen "pirates" to victory at this year's Darwin Beer Can Regatta.
Thousands gathered at Mindil Beach on Sunday to watch homemade boats, fashioned out of empty drink containers including beer cans and plastic milk bottles, sink or swim at the annual charity fundraiser. Locals and tourists gathered at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade boats. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
Six teams raced their beer can boats from the water's edge, around buoys and back to shore, while spectators cheered from the sand. Homemade boats weren't the only handiwork on display, with some dressing up for the occasion. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
Water pistols and projectiles were used in the capture-the-flag style Battle of Mindil, split into open and junior divisions, as teams tried to fend off other competitors in the day's grand final contest.
The event program also featured activities including tug-of-war, iron man, relays, kayaking races, games of thong throwing and a challenge to crown the day's best drink can or carton-inspired outfits.
Four local Lions Club groups — Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield — organised the charity fundraiser event, with the Mindil Beach Surf Life Saving Club this year's beneficiary. The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The 2025 Beer Can Regatta, the annual event's 51st instalment, saw locals and tourists gather at Mindil Beach to watch teams compete in homemade watercraft. The June event is hosted by The Lions Club at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Palmerston and Litchfield, raising money for charity. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) The boats are made by recycling empty drink cans. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) Lachlan says the boat was made for load, not speed. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
While creativity plays a big part in the regatta, the reliability of each watercraft is put to the test when it hits the water. Learning from the past
The dozen-strong Down Under Safari Pirates claimed victory in both the main race and the Battle of Mindil this year, with the team coming back strong after sinking in 2024.
Team leader Scotty Hannaford said he had learned how important it was to have a hands-on approach, having taken the lead in this year's boat design and build.
"We thought we'd have a better crack, a bit better build, this year," he said. Scotty Hannaford took the lead in crafting his team's boat. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
A team from the United States Marine Corps, in the Northern Territory for the annual Marine Rotational Force — Darwin (MRF-D), also competed.
Team member Hunter Alley said he had drawn on his past experience for this year's regatta. Open energy drink cans decorated the outside of the US Marines' boat. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
He said in 2023 the marines team had "built a really cool boat, and it was lighter, but we just didn't win".
"We decided we're not engineers, we're marines', so we just started putting stuff together," he said.
"This year we built something strong, something big, and we don't care [if it's fast], we're just here to fight." The US team's boat was named Kyle. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
Their boat, named Kyle, was mostly made of energy drink cans, reflecting the crew's long work hours, and featured an American flag flying from the back.
Another returning team on Sunday was the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, who won the 2024 event after another team was disqualified.
They said they wanted to win the Battle of Mindil this time around, and hoped the SS Sapper — named after the slang term for engineer soldiers — was up to the challenge. The SS Sapper was named to represent the engineers who competed in it. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
Sergeant Vittoria Vitiello described the craft as "a textbook build", with the team drawing on inspiration from the event rule book which lists catamarans as "popular and generally quite quick in the water".
"It's painted in the regimental colours, the red and the blue, and it's filled with beer cans," Sergeant Vitiello said.
"It is the same boat that was used last year, with a fresh coat of paint, some new cans and extra glue, so fingers crossed she holds up this time as well." Some teams were still making last-minute modifications on race day. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling ) What is the Beer Can Regatta all about?
According to the Lions Club, the first Beer Can Regatta took place on June 16 in 1974 as an effort to clean up Darwin. Coralie Brannelly says the Beer Can Regatta first began as an effort to clean up Darwin. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
Coralie Brannelly from Palmerston Lions Club, who has been helping to organise the event for about 14 years, said its inception was the result of "this amazing decision to build boats with the cans that were lying around".
"It's a recycling event, more than a beer event, but it's unique to us," she said. Lachlan Gotts (centre left) said his junior team's boat was made with "a lot of cans and a lot of Sika". ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
Each year, competitors are welcomed to "can-struct" a watercraft from anything that floats: empty aluminium cans, milk bottles, drink cartons.
There are no rules about boat design, but the empty drink containers must be the primary flotation source. The boats part of the event are made by recycling empty drink cans. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
Teams often begin organising well ahead of the big day, since Lions recommends about 2,500 cans are needed to carry a team of six. What about crocs?
Since the event takes place during the Top End's dry season, locals will tell you the risk of crocodiles at the beach is generally pretty low. Racegoers could buy iced coffees and soft drinks from a floating kiosk at the beach. ( ABC News: Oliver Chaseling )
That's because the iconic reptiles mate in the wet season, encouraged by the longer days and rainy weather, and move through the water a lot more to breed in those warmer months.
At this year's event the only sighting was a croc look-alike junior boat, made of iced coffee cartons and affectionately named Chompers, resting on the beach. Racegoers could snap a photo with Chompers. ( ABC News: Gemma Ferguson ) Posted 10m ago 10 minutes ago Mon 9 Jun 2025 at 4:33am
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