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Kelowna  

New face for Fintry Queen

To give his beloved boat a fighting chance, the owner of the Fintry Queen has stepped aside.

In a court appearance on Monday, Andy Schwab introduced the Fintry's new president and CEO William Hockley.

Hockley's a large mortgage holder on the ship, first investing in Schwab's vision a year-and-a-half ago.

“I knew the ship was looking for investment, so when I moved to the Okanagan two-and-a -half years ago I was looking for a business opportunity and his came up,” says Hockley.

“My wife didn't want me putting all our money into the ship so I put a portion into the ship and also bought another company at the same time.”

Hockley said he loved Schwab's vision and believed in the history and future of the Fintry Queen.

Schwab felt Hockley could bring a new, fresh take on the company and also help with issues he believes some have with him and his credibility.

“I am resigning effective today. I still own shares in the company, but I am not the decision maker anymore,” says Schwab.

“It is a good step, maybe a necessary step. I am not pleased with the present situation, but I hold myself accountable for that.”

Schwab says Hockley is a good friend as well, so he feels confident in handing over his ship to him.

“I have an investment in the ship, so I don't want to see it get seized,” says Hockley. “I am protecting my rights and my interests in the ship.”

In their court appearance on Monday, Schwab and Hockley were asking the court for more time to allow them to find the Fintry a new home.

“Our issues is that locations that we had identified, that would have enabled us to move by the date we had initially agreed upon, those locations are no longer available,” Schwab told the court.

The duo came to court on Monday prepared to request a 60-day extension to allow them to find a new home for the ship, as well as time to get all the proper permits and paper work to move the boat.

As the documentation they brought to court was not filed beforehand, the case was adjourned to Aug. 17, which in turn gives them an additional 12 days. On Aug. 17, they can go before the courts and request additional time.

Schwab was supposed to remove the boat from its current home in Sutherland Bay by Aug. 5, but this court delay has given him a bit more time.

Time he still hopes they do not need.

“If a solution comes quickly, we will take it,” says Schwab. “We are actively trying to comply as best we can, as quickly as we can, but the issue is we do not have rights everywhere.”

Schwab says there are a handful of locations they are still pursuing as a new home for the Fintry, but bureaucratic red tape continues to be an issue.

“What you really need is the permission of the upland owner, the person on the shore, and in some cases the person on the shore is the Ministry of Transportation or the Ministry of Environment or it is the province or it's a private individual,” says Schwab.

“We've had a number of private individuals express interest, but so far they have backed off.”

Hockley says they are still talking with a local man who is interested in turning the ship into a large houseboat.

He says they have agreed on a number with the unidentified North Okanagan man who is now working to secure finances and find a place to put the boat.

“We are looking at all options,” says Hockley.

Ideally however, the business partners would still like to see the Fintry back in business in Penticton.

“Our goal is to put it back in operation if we can,” says Schwab. “To build that dock in Penticton, that is really what we are striving for.”

“That would be our preference,” adds Hockley.

Hockley and Schwab have until Aug. 9 to submit all the required documentation to the courts, before they argue their need for more time on Aug. 17/.



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