The First Steamboat On Okanagan Lake

Captain Shorts’ second boat was called the Mary Victoria Greenhow, or the MVG. The boat was named after the daughter of Shorts’ partner, Thomas Greenhow. The 32-foot (10 metre) long Mary Victoria Greenhow was the first steamboat on the Okanagan Lake. It was put in the water in April 1886. Settlers in the Okanagan Valley welcomed the Mary Victoria Greenhow because they could see how much it would benefit the Okanagan Valley. The people of the valley were so pleased with this new boat that they fired a 21-gun salute when the boat reached Penticton on its maiden voyage. The boat could carry five passengers and five tons (4,586 kilograms) of freight. It had a two horsepower engine that ran on kerosene, also called coal oil.