Beer Can Regatta 2024: Best pictures taken by NT News on 50th anniversary of iconic event

Darwin’s golden jubilee regatta featured budgie smugglers, boozing and sun-drenched bonhomie. Watch the winners celebrate their triumph and check out highlights from our mega gallery.

The Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta is the Super Bowl for the city’s surf lifesaving crews and volunteers were in action early on Sunday at Mindil Beach for the loosest maritime event this side of the Tropic of Capricorn.

At what was a milestone year for the beloved event – its golden jubilee – more than 20 volunteers from the Darwin and Mindil Beach surf lifesaving clubs scanned the crowded water for the telltale signs of trouble.

Speaking just after 1pm, Darwin Surf Lifesaving Club president Michelle Taylor said the clubs had already made a number of rescues.

“There’s three that I know of have been pulled from the water,” she said.

Darwin SLC president Michelle Taylor alongside club volunteers Beryl, Jojo and Asheton at the 50th anniversary edition of the Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta August 18, 2024. Picture: Alex Treacy

The three incidents involved a young girl stung on the belly by a stinger – “not a boxy [box jellyfish]” – a person who jumped off a boat into shallow water and sustained a suspected broken ankle, and a woman who became intoxicated and was taken into the medical tent requiring fluids.

Jumping off boats was usually the reason regatta revellers required aquatic rescue and medical attention, Ms Taylor said.

Tanked but triumphant: 80+ Beer Can Regatta photos

VIEW GALLERY

She said although it was chaotic, Darwin SLC always looked forward to chipping in under the direction of its SLC neighbour Mindil Beach to ensure the popular family event went swimmingly.

“As Darwin [SLC], we love to come down and help with such a fun event,” she said.

“We like it when people are out enjoying the water.

“A lot of the public come up to us and ask about marine creatures, stingers, tides, so it’s a great opportunity for us to talk to the community, which we really love.”

Amy Symes with son Finn at Finn's first ever Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta, August 18, 2024. Picture: Alex Treacy

Further up the beach, mum Amy Symes was taking baby Finn out for his first regatta.

“He is going good, he was asleep to begin with but he’s woken up and is now looking at stuff,” Ms Symes said.

“We’ve got the in-laws visiting, so it’s nice to do something quintessentially Darwin with them.

“The event is very representative of our culture in that we can kind of turn anything into a good time.”

The Battle of Mindil – the regatta’s main event – was won by local paddlers including Tully Hemsley and Blake Cooke under the banner of upstart brewery Better Beer.

It was their second attempt at the crown, following on from an “absolute shocker” in 2023.

“We had our doubters,” Mr Hemsley said.

Originally published as Beer Can Regatta 2024: Best pictures taken by NT News on 50th anniversary of iconic event