Mr. Fleming was one of three Townsville, Queensland, Australian fishermen who survived 12 hours floating at sea by turning his Esky into a makeshift life raft after his 23-foot aluminum boat sank. Mr. Fleming's boat, the Sea-bitch, went down in seconds, taking with it flares, an EPIRB and GPS equipment.

"I only had time to turn around and it was going down," Mr Fleming said. "I reckon the hull must have split. Within 30 seconds we were in the water. One of the fellas just had time to jump in the cabin and grab the life-jackets."

The three men spent the night with their life jackets on clinging to the lid of the Esky cooler and used the body of it for a sail as they paddled their feet.

Unaccountably, the Beer Cooler Contained Fresh Water

"We laid it on the side and all three of us held on to the lid and the inside of the Esky caught the wind, Fleming said. "For some reason I'd put two bottles of water inside as well, I never do that, but we had water to drink."

"For the past 30 years that I've gone out to sea, I've always had a big Esky in the boat. My thought has always been, 'If anything goes wrong, there will be the box to hold on to'. And on Saturday night, it happened," he said.

In total, the three men spent 12 hours in the water - most of it in darkness - after their boat sank about two miles south-east of Rattlesnake Island, which lies off the coast of Queensland, near Townsville.

However, they realized they were unlikely to reach the island and that trying to get there risked being carried out into the ocean, so they headed for a beach further away.

Local Knowledge Pays Off

Mr. Fleming said: "Even though Rattlesnake Island was closer, I knew if we missed it due to the currents, we would be lost for ever at sea. We lined up the lights on Bushland Beach and that's where we were taken." When they made landfall in their unusual vessel, they were met by two local girls who raised the alarm.

Local forecasters said the men were fortunate as on the night they were at sea, there had been the smallest tide of the month, with perfect winds and currents to help them get to the shore of Bushland Beach.

Fleming said that he particularly lamented the loss of his two 100-hp Yamaha outboards because they were only 10 hours old. He hopes to find a similar boat that he could “fix up” to get his retirement dreams back on track.

Captain's Report
Sunchaser 8522 CR

By Capt. Rob Smith

When it comes to leisurely boating, you can’t beat a pontoon. With Sunchaser, you easily can bring along all the family and enjoy a full day of relaxation underway. With the new camper enclosure version, you can extend the fun overnight at your favorite anchorage or hidden cove and enjoy the stars, the moon and the next day’s sunrise with coffee! The full camper enclosure gives you a motor home on the water.

Room for Family & Friends

Beginning at the foredeck, the corners are rounded rather than harsh squared corners. Navigation lights are set high to be sure anyone can see you underway at night. Docking lights are mounted under the lip of the deck to make it easier to spot the trailer or your slip at night. Entry doors are wide enough to be able to easily bring on equipment or pass through with walking aids. The new furniture really adds comfort to the equation. Seating is extra plush for long term comfort. Instead of having the tunes come out at your feet, Sunchaser brings them up to mid level with speakers mounted high. Drink holders are in the break between the seat base and back to keep the beverages handy.

The bow area is large enough for you to enjoy the family without feeling cramped. Roto-cast seat bases provide plenty of room to store the canvas with ventilation channels to help keep it dry. Side panels around the deck are raised slightly to allow water to drain away keeping everything dry. Since we all enjoy snacks, a table is easily inserted in a floor mount so everyone can enjoy their favorite snack and beverage while watching the kids splash in the water.

Speaking of kids in the water, Sunchaser builds the changing room into the end of the bench seat along the side rather than eating up space at the stern like most do. My observation has been that stern changing rooms end up being storage rooms anyway and you crowd the aft lounger area when you do that.

Helm Features

Moving on to the helm station there is a radio antenna for the AM/FM stereo on the starboard corner and a quick release windshield to make it easier to fit the boat in the garage. The fiberglass helm pod features a ton of room to slide in a carry-on cooler. You will be proud to be in control in the driver’s seat with aircraft style paddle switches with lighted ends that make it easy to see what is on in the dark. Push button breakers are associated with each switch. The basic gauge set keeps it simple to watch the important numbers underway with a fuel, trim, speed, tachometer and voltage analog gauge set. And if you like GPS or want to add a fishfinder, you still have plenty of space. Sunchaser uses a Seaworthy AM/FM stereo with MP3 jack rather than adding the CD player which consistently is a major cause of consternation onboard in a wet environment. There are molded in pockets in the top of the dash for your iPod or cell phone and a 12 volt socket is handy to keep the iPod or cell phone charged. The captain’s chair is plush with comfortable flip-up arm rests.

Additional Features

Another wonderful feature of a pontoon is you can bring everyone back to enjoy the ride with you rather than being isolated underway. The aft lounger wraps around from the center port gate to the aft starboard walk through to the swim ladder. This bench also has roto-cast seat bases for additional storage as well as another position for the snack table. Drink holders are built into the corners and seat backs for your passengers. Across the back is a narrow sunpad with bolster to keep you from accidently slipping over the edge. Flipping up the sunpad gives you access to the fuel cell, fuel/water separator and battery. Off the starboard end of the deck is the rear boarding gate and flip-over swim ladder.

Specifications

The Sunchaser 8522 measures 22’3” length overall with a beam width of 102”. This model weighs about 1950 lbs dry without engine and carries a fuel capacity of 24 gallons. I tested her on a wind-blown inland lake in northern Indiana. I was impressed with her ability to slide into the dockage even with challenging winds and her steadiness underway against the wind. She is quickly on plane in a short 3.9 seconds. I found her top speed to be 26.6 mph at 6000 rpm and her cruise speed to be about 16.1 mph at 4000 rpm for a full tank cruise range of 116 miles.

If you enjoy boating and camping, you will love the 8522 from Sunchaser!

"We wanted to give some added value to our new snowmobile customers, and Bay Mills was excited to help," say Phillip Spicer, Owner of Spicer's Boat City

This year, Spicer's is giving away a nights stay at the Bay Mill Resort & Casino with any new sled purchase.

Located in Brimley, in the Upper Peninsula, Bay Mills features a 144-room hotel, two gaming areas, a conference center, three restaurants, gift shop and a sports themed bar with large golf simulators to compliment the four year old Wild Bluff Golf Course, which, incidentally, was recently voted the upper peninsula's best and awarded a 4-1/2 star rating by the prestigious Golf Digest Magazine.

"This gives our customers a place that is snowmobile friendly, right near the snowmobile trail, with plenty of exciting amenities," states Phillip. "So far our customers are very appreciative and excited to book a trip up there."

The casino strives to please their slot players by providing the latest and most popular machines and continues its renowned style of friendly faces, good food, loose paying slots and lots of fun promotions.

With easy access to the snowmobile trails, creating a trip from Bay Mills to Paradise, Grand Maris or even Munsing is just a trail map away!