Beer Can Regatta Makes Waves in Darwin, Australia

[Unidentified Member of “Sebastian” Crew]: 

"We just sat around and had a few drinks and thought yes, we'll make a mud crab, why not, and then this is what it turned out like.”         

 

It was one of dozens of entries this year in the competition that pits wits, and cans, against the sea.              

 

Other entries were dwarfed this year by the largest ever - 'Extravacanz' - weighing in at one and a half tonnes. 

 

Seven months in the making it comes complete with its own bar and an upper deck.              

 

[Mick Keeley, Builder of “Extravacanz']:

"The inspiration was coming down here the last couple of years and seeing the size of the boats and thinking god, my two little girls could pick them up and put them on a trailer. That's not a boat. This is how you build a boat. Let's build a real one.”

             

But size is not everything and this year it was 'The Hammer' that won the bragging rights. 

 

[Darren Grose, “The Hammer”]: 

"Look, great team, great atmosphere. We've had a great day, all day. Every competitor has been fair and we've had a really large amount of fun so we'll be back again next year.”            

 

The event attracts more spectators each year to Mindil Beach in Darwin.              

 

It has been running since 1974, with few rules apart from 'build your boat out of cans' and 'do not sink' - good advice in part of Australia's Northern Territories famous for its salt water crocodiles.