Kelowna judge orders Fintry Queen’s removal by early September

KELOWNA – A judge has given owners of the Fintry Queen until Sept. 8 to remove the vessel from the city-owned water lot where it’s moored or face seizure by the bailiff.

Property supervisor Mike Olson said the terms of the order are clear but he believes the boat’s owners Andy Schwab and Bill Hockley intend to move the vessel before then.

“That’s based on what has been said by the two owners,” Olson said.

There is some time sensitivity to the removal, he said, due to low lake levels in the fall that can strand the vessel in Sutherland Bay.

“I don’t know if it could be safely removed at that point,” Olson added.

If the boat is seized by the bailiff, Olson said matter becomes removed from the city’s control. The boat would likely be sold, either as operating or as scrap, and the city paid what it is owed before the balance would be returned to the owners.

Schwab and Hockley have been trying for two years to resurrect the Fintry Queen, a converted car ferry that has been plying the local waters since the 1950s.

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