Locals 'heartbroken' over shipwrecked MV Tuhoe

Locals 'heartbroken' over shipwrecked MV Tuhoe

The 100-year-old schooner that was wrecked on the beach after it ran aground near Kaiapoi has now been torn apart and completely removed.

Watching the MV Tuhoe's destruction was heart-breaking for those who had kept it afloat for all those years.

The shipwrecked vessel never stood a chance against the thrashing waves. 

"From the very moment she went to ground she was almost doomed," says Regional Harbour Master Kim Dilley. "There was no way she was coming off. She didn't have the structural integrity in her hull to keep her in one piece."

At low tide, the last of its valuables were removed. Everything else left onboard will go down with it.

Onlookers trekked 4kms to see the vessel before what's left of it ends up in the rubble pile.

Flat-bottomed and built to venture up shallow waters, Charlie Croucher has devoted weekends to working on it for the last 30 years.

"It just breaks your heart that all that work is gone in a couple of hours," he says.

This morning was his last chance to set foot onboard the vessel.

Moments later, one by one, the diggers moved in to tear it down, leaving nothing but heartbreak and memories for Mr Croucher.

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