To sea — after 17 years

Press, 16 July 1982, Page 8

To sea — after 17 years

The Tuhoe will take to the open sea on tomorrow for the first time in about 17 years.

The,63-year-old vessel has been tied up at the Kaiapoi wharf since the demise of New. Zealand’s coastal shipping service in the 19605. The Tuhoe will sail to Lyttelton where she will be slipped for a full inspection as part of a marine survey. The vessel was originally an auxiliary schooner but was later refitted with more powerful diesel engines. The Tuhoe will have to cross the bar at the mouth of the Waimakariri River, where she ran aground in July, 1963, during a voyage from Wellington. She was stuck on the bar for two days before being pulled free at high tide by a bulldozer on the riverbank. The 33m vessek is owned by the Cure Rowing Club, which is based at Kaiapoi, and is leased to a group of Kaiapoi people who have formed the M.V. Tuhoe Restoration Society. The society hopes to obtain a marine survey for the Tuhoe to allow passenger cruises along the Kaiapoi and Waimakariri rivers between Kaiapoi and Kairaki. Depending on the success and finances, the society may in future apply for a survey to enable passenger trips'across the bar to the open sea; - ■ Marine approval has been obtained to allow Saturday’s trip to Lyttelton. The Tuhoe will leave Kaiapoi at midday to'catch the high tide at the rivermouth. The Tuhoe will be escorted down river by a jet rescue boat and be met outside the bar by a fishing vessel, which will accompany her to Lyttelton. The trip is expected to take about three hours. A crew of 14 will man the

vessel, which will be under the command of Captain C. M. Anderon, of Christchurch.

In spite of being laid up for so long the Tuhoe is considered to be in sound order.

During the last year members of the Preservation Society have spent many hours restoring parts of the vessel including the galley, engine room, mess, and decking. Painting has been carried out.

The Tuhoe was purchased by the Cure Rowing Club about three years ago from Mr C. T. Williams, of Kaiapoi, who used the vessel as a floating art gallery. The Tuhoe was built at Auckland in 1919 and served 1 in the Pacific during World War IL

The later traded on the New Zealand coast for the Northern 'Steam Ship Company before being sold to the Kaiapoi Shipping Company, Ltd, in 1962 for use between

Kaiapoi and Wellington. In November, 1963, the Kaiapoi company, facing stiff competition from roll-on interisland ferries, ceased trading. The Tuhoe then spent a short period line-fishing before being laid up. Captain Anderson, a former director and marine superintendent of the Kaiapoi Shipping Company, said yesterday that he felt honoured to have the opportunity of being in command of the Tuhoe during the trip to Lyttelton. ' He hopes for,calm conditions during the crossing of the bar. Fog, cross-currents, and wind can make the crossing difficult. “Looking at the weather map, conditions appear to be very favourable with a flat sea and not a trace of wind,” said Captain Anderson. “But a final decision will be made just before the vessel gets to the mouth,” he said.