In 1859 Captain William Irving (1816?1872) became a partner in the Victoria Steam Navigation Company that provided ferry service between New Westminster and Victoria. The Irving family lived for a time in Victoria then in New Westminster. In 1882 William's son Captain John Irving (1854?1936), then 28, ordered the construction of the R.P. Rithet sternwheeler to expand his fleet of the Pioneer Line. R.P. Rithet was constructed by Alexander Watson's shipbuilding company in Victoria. Later in 1882 Irving helped to form the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company (CPNC) and the Pioneer Line ceased to exist. The following year John Irving was made the general manager of the CPNC and he ordered the purchase of the Yosemite from California and brought it up to Vancouver to serve as a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria. In that first year of service Yosemite set a speed record of four hours and 20 minutes for the 72-nautical-mile (133 km; 83 mi) run from Vancouver to Victoria. The record stood until 1901 when the ocean liner Moana made the run in four hours and one minute.
