Can-do boat crews make a splash at Beer Can Regatta
Boat race crews with a can-do attitude have battled it out at the famed beachside Beer Can Regatta, now in its 51st year.
Thousands of people gathered at Mindil Beach in Darwin on Sunday for sand and sea competitions culminating in the free-for-all Battle for Mindil between determined beer-can boat crews.
The regatta began in 1974 as a clean-up initiative featuring 63 homemade boats and some 22,000 spectators - about half Darwin's population at the time.
An Australian army team won one of the key boat races in 2024 but this year wants to win the main event, the Battle for Mindil, in which crews battle it out with water pistols, flour bombs and boat ramming.
Vittoria Vitiello of the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment says this year they aim to win the battle for "bragging rights".
"Last year we turned someone's boat over so that was lots of fun," the team leader said.
"It's what Darwin is all about - being a bit silly and getting things down."
The 2025 battle features hidden underwater treasure, which the tacked-together tinnie crews have to find and get back to shore without having it seized.
Other makeshift boats also feature in the regatta, including ones made from large plastic water containers and cardboard milk cartons.
NT Tourism and Major Events Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said the regatta celebrated the territory's unique lifestyle and was all about creativity, sustainability and having fun.
Funds raised at the event go to local community groups.
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