The Day of Vltava river 2023

Radek Štovíček's VOROPLAVBA will present rafts and rowboats on the Hergert Cihelna embankment in Prague, which will be presented by swimmers and rowers "In the footsteps of the Vltava swimmers".

Our company VOROPLAVBA.CZ presents some of the vessels of its fleet in Prague.

Raft VILÉM – one of the sight-seeing rafts of VOROPLAVBA Radek Šťovíček, the raft is a patent type of Václav raft, which in 2021 sailed the Vltava River from Purkarka to Prague under the Charles Bridge and transported the statue of St. John of Nepomuck on the site of the former St. John's currents. The last Vltava swimmer, Mr. Václav Husa (1930 - 2021), also sailed on this type of raft, who sailed with the statue of St. John of Nepomuck was initiated. Vor has its home port at Parkán Pier in Český Krumlov, from where sightseeing cruises through the historic center of Český Krumlov depart.

Model of the raft "foreman" - mockup of the raft board, the foreman who was the first to be tied in the raft strands. The foreman's crew - usually 3 swimmers - steered the entire raft strand, the length of which could be up to 150 meters, by rowing from this raft.

Sea skiff Liteboat RACE - a rowing boat for seaside rowing races by the French manufacturer Liteboat. The rowing boat on display is an authentic skiff on which Radek Šťovíček sailed from České Budějovice to Hamburg in 2022. The almost 1,000 km long voyage along the Vltava and Elbe rivers was a reminder of the tradition of sailing rafts from southern Bohemia to Germany. The voyage was a tribute to the last swimmer, Mr. Václav Husovy, whose swimming family sailed rafts to the German Riesa and Hamburg, on which they also floated live fish.

Václav Chalupa – one of the biggest figures in Czech and world rowing, holder of 14 medals from important rowing regattas (Olympic Games, World Championships, European Championships) will personally present authentic rowing boats from his rowing career.

Skul RACEK - a gig ship from the 1930s. Veslice Racek was the training and racing boat of the oldest rowing club in our country - Vajgar Jindřichův Hradec. She was rowed by Václav Chalupa's father - Václav Chalupa Sr., who raced on this boat as a teenager. All novice rowers of the Jindřichohradek rowing club learned to row on Racka, and Václav Chalupa also rowed on it for the first time at the age of seven. The boat was retired from the rowing club and was only discovered in 2009 by Václav Chalupa in the renovation workshop of ČVK Prague, where it was repaired by Prague ferryman Zdeněk Bergman. The seagull returned to the water together with Václav Chalupa during the NAVALIS Midsummer celebration in 2018.

Skiff STÄMPFLI – the first top-of-the-line boat custom-built for Václav Chalupa by the renowned Swiss manufacturer - Stämpfli Racing Boats AG, founded in 1896. This boat was ordered for Václav Chalupa by the Czech Rowing Association from the former excellent rower and owner of Stämpfli Melchior Rudolf Bürgin, who rode watching Václav at rowing races, he took photos and videos of Vašek's ride, and on the basis of these results he built a custom rowing boat for Vašek in 1990. On this skiff, Václav won 2 silver medals at the World Championships, in Tasmania 1990 and in Vienna 1991. After 1991, the boat was used for the purposes of the junior national team and was then loaned to rowing clubs in the Czech Republic for a symbolic rental. In 2009, she was offered for sale in a very worn condition, but after the decision of the rowing union, she was given to Václav Chalup, who showed interest in the boat. Václav renovated the skiff and returned it to the shine of a beautiful wooden rowboat.

WOLLONER skiff – Václav Chalupa's first carbon-laminate rowing boat. In 1992, Václav Chalupa's coach Zdeněk Pecka decided to switch from a wooden skiff to a rowboat made of modern materials. Václav tried boats from several manufacturers and the Wolloner skiff suited him best. The ship is named after designer and manufacturer Leo Wolloner. He was the chief designer of the world-famous Empacher rowing boat manufacturer, but in the early 1990s he became independent and founded his own company. Václav Chalupa won a silver medal on this boat at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. After the Olympics in 1993, the designer Leo Wolloner dies after an illness, and the skiff was offered for sale to Václav Chalup. However, the price tag for the skiff was very high, so the skiff was returned to the Leo Wollonera family, who ceased boat production and sold the skiff to Austria. In 2022, the skiff appeared at an auction of rowing boats in Vienna, where it was purchased by Krumlov rower Radek Šťovíček. He had the boat restored to its original condition and exactly 30 years after the Barcelona Olympics, he presented it together with Václav Chalupa at the regular event "Olympic Rowing under the Krumlov Castle". On May 15, 2023, Václav Chalupa and the "silver" skiff from the Olympic Games will be at the exhibition of historical rowing boats for the NAVALIS St. John's Day celebration.

You can find more information about the event at: Vševltavský spolek