The Ten Can-mandments
ons during the Battle of Mindil, however they do appear out of nowhere. Just harmless weapons like flour bombs and eggs — it’s just a bit of good fun on the day and that’s what people are there to do — have fun and enjoy themselves,” Mr Brannelly says.
Mr Brannelly has been involved with the regatta for around 10 years. It is the unique boats that people manage to create from scratch year-in-year-out that continue to amaze him.
“The boats can be made of anything that floats — mostly recycled stuff like beer and soft drink cans, but we’ve also had boats made entirely of plastic wine bottles,” he says.
“I remember one year someone trucked a plastic wine boat all the way up from Sydney and did a fun run on the way, donating all funds to the Beer Can Regatta when they arrived in Darwin.”
While the modern-day cre-
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ations are impressive in their own right, the co-founder of Darwin’s Beer Can Regatta, Lutz Frankenfeld, says they have nothing on the entries that scattered the shores back in the 1970s when the very first regattas were held.
“We had everything from submarines and motorised shark-shaped boats, to aircraft carriers and 50ft Viking boats entering the competition — the whole community got involved,” he recalls.
Mr Frankenfeld, along with other co-founder Paul RiceChapman, saw their regatta plans come to fruition on n June 16 in 1974 and were well and truly taken aback by the support they received from Territorians.
“At the very first regatta we had 65 entries and it just grew from there. We had huge crowds of around 20,000 0,000 peo- ple at the regattas — the support we got from the community was just wonderful,” Mr Frankenfeld says.
“It also gave people a chance to clean up the city and our beaches as that was all part of the event once the regatta was finishe finished.”
While the calibre of beer can boats has changed over the years, the passion and enthusiasm of the co-ordinators and competitors behind this unique event has not.
Even 44 years after the inaugural event, the quirky regatta continues to attract Territorians of all ages for a day of fun and laughter all for a good cause — just as the original founders intended.
“It’s just a magnificent day on the water that everyone can enjoy, plus it’s a wonderful event for charity,” Mr Frankenfeld says.
This year’s Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta gets underway today from 10am, with boat judging, children’s activities, thong throwing and tug of war competitions just some of the entertainment on offer until 5pm.
All proceeds from the event are directed to this year’s beneficiary, the Asthma Foundation NT.