It’s Almost that Time of the Year Again…for the Beer Can Regatta!

Just when you thought all of those good ol’ Australian traditions were fading, if you’re new to Darwin you’ll be happy to hear that we celebrate an incredibly Aussie tradition we call ‘The Beer Can Regatta’.  It’s a truly Darwin institution and hails back to 1974, when 22,000 people turned up for the inaugural event.  At the time, that represented a massive half the population of Darwin, so you can imagine how huge it was!

Basically the Beer Can Regatta is exactly that.  Teams register and create vessels out of empty beer cans, soft drink cans, soft drink bottles and milk cartons.  To ensure maximum entertainment value on the day, none of the vessels are tested for their seaworthiness and plenty of the boats fall apart before the events really get started.

On the day, it’s not just beer can boats that command attention.  There is a traditional thong (the ones you wear on your feet!) throwing contest and the ‘Henley-on-Mindil’ competition, where all entrants get their boats moving on land, running them in Flintstone car-style.  There are also a good few concerts held on the day too, to really create a fun and entertaining environment that all in all, is a bit of good old-fashioned fun!

The event was started by two Darwin businessmen, and since 1978 has been bought to us all by the Lion’s Club of Darwin.  This year, you can check the event out at Mindil Beach on Sunday 12^th July from 10am until 5pm.  A few of our lucky team members here at Ray White Bayside real estate will be getting their piece of the action (the spectatorial type!) this year, and no doubt so will some of our happy sales and rental clients!  Be sure to check it all out!