Purranha's Sailing Adventures 2000-2004


Cruising Onboard Purranha 2000-2004
Sailing on-board Lorelei isn’t the first time Paul and Lisa have been full time cruising.
We completed a 3.5 year stint cruising on our catamaran Purranha from Mid 2000 to Mid 2004 with an 8 month stop in the middle at Bowen to ride out the cyclone season and to top up the cruising funds.
Purranha’s History

Purranha is a Cloud 9 production catamaran constructed on the Sunshine Coast by the Panarama Fiberglass Company.
She was the last one ever produced from the Cloud 9 moulds and was a special order for a retired Central Coast man and his wife.
He kept Purranha on a small wharf at the back of his waterfront house.
The interior was kept very basic and light and had a single 4-stroke Honda outboard originally. The one exception was the extensive range of top-of-the-line Ray Marine electronics on-board as his brother-in-law was a Raytheon/Ray Marine agent.
We purchased Purranha from him in 1998 and moved her to Gosford.

Above and below – Purranha a week after we purchased her.
Rafted up alongside “Rahiti”, Paul’s dad’s boat.


We kept Purranha light and as a fun weekender for 18 months before deciding to give her a major refit at Lake Macquarie before heading off full time cruising.
The refit included new twin Nanni Diesels with folding props, new canopy and upholstery, BBQ, electrics and switch panels, 3.5m RIB and 15Hp motor, scuba compressor, refrigeration, gallery overhaul, decent mattresses, anchoring system, parachute and drogue, desalinator, dive platform, new rigging, 3 new sails and a general tidy up.

Coming up on the slip for the major refit

Purranha with refit finished and in cruising trim
 Us refitted and ready to go too – thanks to Pauls parents George and Chez
We were so happy to be underway and full time cruising.
Lisa was only 29 and Paul was 30. Most of the time we were the smallest cruising yacht in the bay but with the biggest tender and having the most fun. It was an absolute blast and changed our lives forever.
We never returned home and to this day still have not (only to visit).

Cruising our way up the NSW coastline


Beaching Purranha at Easter 2000 on the Gold Coast
just in front of Sea World
A Wahoo just in sight of Lady Musgrave Island.


At Lady Musgrave Lagoon we met these people above,
Maureen and Barry off “Spirit of Kalahari”
No other people have made such a massive influence on our cruising than them. We lovingly refer to them as our ocean parents
“Ma and Pa Kalahari”
They really paved the way for us to take up International cruising and purchase a monohull!
We had the same influence on them with the scuba diving and taught Maureen to dive whilst we were together.
We spent 35 days straight in Lady Musgrave with them diving before all our food, fuel and basic provisions had all but run out.
It was a most memorable time.
The world smallest Scuba tank compressor – but it did the job…

Our RIB out the back during a freak storm, whist transiting between lagoons.

Transiting the very shallow “Narrows” between Gladstone and Rockhampton.

Bushwalking with local Great Keppel Island Artist, Lindy Malon


Nara Inlet, The Whitsundays with Paul parents Diann and Ron


Hill Inlet, The Whitsundays
Spion Kop, South Molle Island

One day we snuck into the luxury resort at Hayman Island…Hehe

Hooning around Hamo, Observatory Hill, Hamilton Island
During the cyclone season we decided to stop and work and chose the town of Bowen which is just north of The Whitsundays.
Paul worked in the graphics dept. for the local paper and a Pizza Shop at Night.
Lisa did accounting during the day and the Bottle Shop afterhours.
On the weekends we would sail to Gloucester Island, go diving or hang with the locals and go deep sea or inland Barramundi Fishing.

Paul at work
Some nice Reds we caught during the annual Bowen Fishing Classic with
Sue and Adam
A helicopter joy flight over Bowen
Lisa’s parents Jack and Carol onboard sailing to Grey’s Bay

Weekends at Gloucester Island

Purry on the slip at Bowen

Lisa onboard “Fiona” the racing yacht we crewed on in Bowen.
(Well Lisa crewed on full time while Paul did sometimes when he wasn’t on the cats…)
A fun birthday for Lisa at Laguna Keys Resort

After leaving Bowen we went back to the Whitsundays to enjoy the company of friends onboard and to get a new dingy cover and solar panels.
Lisa and Maureen with new cover to both our RIB’s

Special times with Bruce and Kylie onboard

Brucey – happiest with a line in one hand and a beer in the other

The Annual Yachties 4th July party in a remote Whitsunday’s Bay.

We also had friends Nathan and Cheylane onboard..
It was an awesome time with the best 2 weeks of weather we had for our whole time cruising onboard Purranha

Cheylane handfeeding the Maori Wrasse at Bait Reef

Nath with a big GT

Nara Inlet
A 55lb Cobia Kingfish caught near Gloucester Island
A beach BBQ with Ma and Pa, Gloucester Island
At the Peak, Cape Upstart

Our very fun Xmas in July onboard Purranha with Ma and Pa

Family friends Gordon and Bev who we caught up with in Townsville

When we sailed north to the Hinchinbrook Channel, we linked up with close friend Andrew A who spent nearly 3 weeks with us onboard.
We’ve never fished so much in our whole life. It was a blast.
Whitewater rafting with Andy on the Tully
Dinner one night with Andy on Spirit of Kalahari

Mmmm Muddies
Spearfishing Beaver Cay, Great Barrier Reef

Andy’s 6am Golden Trevally that has a very funny story to go with it

Trolling Mania - 4 rods, 3 people onboard and a 4 way hook up on Spanish.
Lost 1, boated 3 and let 1 go to keep 2. Got all 4 lures back……luckily.
This is one of Paul’s all time fav photos and hangs proudly on our wall
Climbing Nina Peak, Throsbourne Trail, Hinchinbrook Island

Saltwater Fly Fishing fun


After Andrew left, we continued north towards the Islands around Dunk, then onto Fitzroy and Cairns.
Lisa at the Scenic Skyrail, Cairns


Paul’s mum Diann also flew up to Cairns to visit us
Mossman Gorge
Paul’s Dad George with “That” Spanish Mackerel

George and Chez sailing back from Upolu Cay
From Cairns we pushed onto Port Douglas, The Daintree River, Cooktown and onto Lizard Island.

Our anchorage in Cooktown

That’s a BIG crayfish, Cooktown

Looking down over Watson’s Bay, Lizard Island

The Peak at Cook’s Look

Sunset Drinks at Lizard during cruising season is always a big affair

Friends Russell and Shauna off the Tri Wahine
Fun times during the yachties “Lizard Island Olympics”


Pioneer Bay, Orpheus Island where we dived all night to witness the annual Coral Spawning
Back in the Whitsundays with Danny & Julie on Sentinel

Lisa and Hayley swimming

Paul and brother Rod snorkelling the Woodstack, Hook Island


In May of 2004 we put Purranha on the market with a Multihull dealer in The Whitsundays and sold her relatively quickly.
It was a sad day to see her go but we knew we wanted to go further afield than just coastal cruising and we felt she did not have the size, underwing clearance or weight carrying capacity to do what we wanted to do.
Quite simply we outgrew her.

We sold her to a couple in The Hinchinbrook area of north Queensland and we lost contact with Purranha.

 In early 2019 we were having dinner with friends Tom and Patricia on board their beautiful cruising yacht Marie Claire. They had invited another 2 friends who we hadn't met before and as it turns out they now own Purranha - and have for nearly a decade.
Geoff and Kay are lovely people and have renamed Purranha to Purr-inn and have done a stack of great changes to her to make her a fantastic coastal cruising boat in very good condition.

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