Former director of the shipyard, Sir Eddie Denny, related that when the Coya was first re-assembled at Puno, and her boilers fired up, the altitude meant that she would not be able to maintain her contracted speed across the full length of the lake without burning through excessive amounts of coal.

Denny's had already committed substantial sums to building the ship in Dumbarton, taking it to pieces again then transporting it all the way to Lake Titicaca and re-assembling.

One of the directors had the bright idea of persuading the directors of the prospective buyers, the Peruvian Corporation, that a nice day out could be had if they ran half the intended route to an island in the middle of the lake, where they would stop to have a sumptuous lunch, courtesy of Denny's, after which they would steam all the way back to Puno and it would be just like completing the full-distance run.

This was agreed and Coya raced out to the island, deposited the directors of both companies, then sailed into a nearby inlet where a supply of coal had been bunkered a day or so before.

As the directors enjoyed their lunch, Coya was topped up with enough coal to make the run back to Puno in good time.