Permanent Crew
The current crew of La Grace
Who can you meet on board our ship?
It is not possible to meet all of us on a single voyage, even we take a holiday now and then, but "together we are one team!"
Captain
Josef Dvorský (1971)
Owner and founder of the project to build this ship and to sail her. Qualified as Yachtmaster Ocean - A (unrestricted sailing), sailing instructor and examiner for the Czech Ministry of Transport. He has been a sailor since 1982 and a professional captain since 1992.
He has well over 300.000 NM under his belt. Besides the qualifications gained at the Czech Ministry of Transport, he was trained for sailing square-rigged ships in England, on the sail training ship Royalist. He grew up with La Grace from the day she came into being and is the captain on most of her voyages.
He still believes that someone will soon be found in Bohemia to take over from him on La Grace!
Marek Turba
Marek has several voyages as a sailor on La Grace behind him, but his main contribution is the constant monitoring of the weather situation around the ship. His forecasts had a great deal to do with La Grace's excellent results in the Tall Ship Race. In August 2023 he tried out his first voyage as captain of La Grace, from Elba to Sardinia, and after a long time I had found someone who could look after the ship for me for 5 weeks, which makes me very happy indeed. Congratulations...
Filip Dvorský
(2005)
A captain from the day he was born, he already has far more than 50.000 NM under his belt. La Grace was his home, and if it were not for compulsory school attendance, she would certainly have stayed that way for good. Even so, he spends every school holiday and every extra day off during the school year on our ship. Since the age of 16 he has held the small-craft skipper's licence (VMP), since 18 the coastal skipper's licence C, and since 19 the authorisation for area B. His proud father believes that the ship's future lies in his bond with her, which is why he has been training as a captain for many years now. It is comical to watch the marina crews' eyes when a 15-year-old captain brought the colossus that is La Grace alongside. Whatever he did not learn on La Grace, he practises as the captain of his own two-masted ship Faraon. :-D
Since 2021 he has sailed with us whenever grammar school left him free, and he is the youngest bosun in history ever to have served on La Grace! He broke the same age record again in 2025, as a captain of La Grace at only 19.
Captain's mate
Jirka "Medvěd" Štancl
(1962)
Jirka se dostal na La Grace v roce 2020, kdy jsme nutně hledali pomoc od potápěče a k La Grace za ten rok tak přirostl, že se rozhodl u nás učit na kapitána. Kapitánoval loď La Grace v Porto Azzurru na ostrově Elba, ale také v přístavu v Palermo na Sicílii. Má kapitánskou kvalifikaci B od MDČR. Dříve se plavil na 30 metrové lodi Bella a také několika běžných charterových lodích. Jako instruktor potápění (EDS) se na La Grace stará o čistotu trupu pod vodou a o zájemce o potápěčské kurzy.
P.S.: Až mě přestane zdržovat o dovolené a odpluje si plánované plavby rokem 2024, přehodím ho zase mezi stálou posádku podle zařazení, kam patří :-)
Bosuns
Milan"Panák"Štefan
(1962)
He designed and built, and for many years has been sailing the lakes of the whole of Europe on, what is probably the largest inflatable brig in the world - the ship Berounka. He has been on La Grace since 2013 and thanks to his hands you will find many beautiful period details in La Grace's rigging. Besides the repairs to La Grace in Spain, the 2015 refit of the rig also went through his hands and his head. The crews say he is the only fair man on the ship. "After all, he is angry all the time and with everyone equally!" :-) His "sakra pes" has become an indelible part of our vocabulary.
Maxim"Ragnar"Makarov
(1974)
Jiří Holý
Jirka was the discovery of 2019. A hard-working, quick-learning and above all friendly chap, who dreamed of sailing the seas back in the days of the Victorka, he fitted into our group fast. When he is swimming in the sea, towed behind the ship on a rope, he looks like Aquaman. :-)
Petr Novák
Petr found himself on our ship. After only a few cadet voyages, thanks to his interest in everything around him and his natural appetite for work, he quickly and deservedly made it all the way to the post of bosun in 2019, and although he missed the 2022/2023 seasons for personal reasons, he still works and sails with us to this day.
Milan"Orky"Dus
(1983)
Milan has been sailing on La Grace since 2018. In civilian life he makes his living as a programmer, but he has skilful hands and a heart that beats for this ship. His hobbies are climbing and tying all sorts of knots, and that comes in very handy here. :-)
Adam"Elf"Jirka
He started sailing with us right from the ship's christening in Athens in 2011. Even before that he did a great deal of work making the rig for La Grace in Valašské Meziříčí. As a swordsman (and a member of the Abbaca group) he has a natural affinity for voyages on a historical ship. He has been sailing as a bosun, as far as his time allows, since 2019.
Jiří"Jori"Pertl
(19XX)
In 2019 an enthusiastic cadet became a bosun. It is a great pity that he does not have more time to sail with us. In his free time he sews beautiful things out of leather and is excellent at curing dried meat.
Boris Kaliský
He joined the crew of La Grace in March 2013 and took part in the repairs in Spain, where, besides running around with an angle grinder, he organised the purchase of lead, new life-saving equipment, the ship's insurance, interpreting and so on. Before that he spent a long time studying film and international relations, and worked for 9 years at the Forum 2000 Foundation, where he organised large conferences. He sailed on the ship until 2013, first as a cadet and later, in 2014, as a bosun. He got married on La Grace and went off into civilian life with his sweetheart. :-D In 2019, though, his parental leave came to an end and so he is sailing on La Grace again as a bosun.
Ondra Lerch(1980)
In Brno he puts out fires and here he climbs the yards. He has been our boatswain since 2022, but before that he already had a few years of voyages behind him, plus hard work in the shipyard during our repairs...
Agatha Renotiere(2000)
She came to La Grace in 2016 at the Escale a Sete festival in France to help with interpreting, and she has been with us ever since, in every bit of her free time. A pirate at heart and part of the ship in spirit, she worked on herself for so long that we stopped being able to imagine a voyage without her. Over time she made it all the way to Deckleader, but she wrote herself into the memory of all our underage cadets mainly as the leader of our children's sailing camps. From 2022 she was already a boatswain's mate, and from 2023 also the first ever proper "boatswain in a skirt". A decent career for a woman, and definitely a deserved one, in such a manly trade as sailor/pirate. :-) Big congratulations...
Boatswain's mate
Radek Novotný(20XX)
He is an occasional member of La Grace's permanent crew, even though he has been with the ship almost since the very first voyages. He is interested in history and mostly takes part in the longer, costumed voyages. He was involved in the founding of the La Grace museum in Terezín.
Maxim Novák(20XX)
If I asked you what nationality this particular Novák is, I am sure you would not guess. But that is not important. What matters most is that he fell in love with La Grace on his very first voyage, and she with him. He worked hard, drew on his experience from our partner ship Shtandart, and he is surely going to be a boatswain here soon...
Engineers
Lukáš Hron (1984)
He has been sailing on La Grace since 2014 and grew so fond of the ship that he later came back to her deck as an engineer. The electrical wiring on La Grace is largely Lukáš's doing. Thanks to him everything on board lights up, blinks and blares just as it should! And even when he is not on deck, he at least helps the other engineers with the electrics over the phone. Thank you...
Marek Rygel
(1996)
a
Radim Rygel(1991)
These two handy brothers sell tractors in Silesia "in their spare time", but they got their love of the sea and their experience on the boat Bella when they were little kids. Their dad owned her and they sailed the waters around Elba. Whenever they are tinkering in our engine room, La Grace has been drooling with joy since 2021. :-) They both skipped the 2023 season, but we hope they will be back on board...
Ondřej Slavík
(1979)
He has been working on La Grace since 2019 and loves the ship, because he loves history and costumes. Before we locked him up in the engine room, he sailed with us several times as a cadet. Back then he probably had no idea he would end up here as an engineer! :-D He has a good pair of hands for engines.
Matěj Grulya(1982)
By the winter of 2023 I had completely stopped believing that I would ever meet a young guy who can still work with his hands and enjoys it. And then it happened...
Martin Hladík(1970)
He has been working with us as an engineer since 2023 and he is good at it. La Grace likes him, because he looks after her well and keeps her running nicely.
Patrik Havel(1978)
Patrik also joined La Grace in 2023, and right on the first voyage of his life. In civilian life he works as a carpenter, and people like that always come in handy on board. With what he has on his chin, his head and his back :-) he took over from the irreplaceable Ivo and looks like the handsomest pirate among us.
Tomaš Bartulec
(1984)
He has been sailing on La Grace since 2021, but he only dared to take on the engineer's job in 2023. Thank heavens for his hands! There have never been enough pirates on board who understand electrics and electronics.
David "Igor" Havránek(1995)
I do not know whether an aircraft mechanic is wasted on La Grace, but one thing is certain: people who work on planes and people who work on ships have something in common. And so since 2023 he has been an occasional engineer.
Agáta Kestřánková
Times are changing, and so even a dinosaur like me has to get used to the fact that girls are increasingly making their way in typically manly positions. But why not, when they have got what it takes! Agáta is good proof of that. She came to us in 2024 and fitted in straight away. She enjoys manual work and she is good at it, so La Grace likes her too. And she is definitely the prettiest of all our engineers! :-)
Cooks
Čestmír "Ježek" Pohanka
(1966)
Česťa is clear proof that you can fall in love with La Grace for life. They share not only the same date of birth, but also many miles sailed together. Even though his civilian job is miles away from cooking, he became a pro in the galley just so he could be with the ship as much as possible. On voyages he also excels as a Deckleader or Bosun´s mate. Thanks to him and his camera, instructional videos for our newcomers keep appearing. Many thanks...
Láďa "Black" Drin
(1984)
He came to our ship as a cadet in 2015, on the Atlantic voyage around Portugal, and La Grace captivated him so much that he started helping her wherever he could, (thank you). Over many further voyages it was already clear that he was one of ours. :-) With experience from the water scouts and from children's camps, and with his own particular sense of humour, he quickly fitted into the team, and he has been cooking on board since 2022. He also brings meaty treats to the ship. :-)
Jan "Kydla" Kydlíček
(1992)
Honza came to us as a cadet in 2021, but very soon he started applying for the cook's job, because he absolutely loves cooking. In his free time he travels the world and lets himself be hired (even for free) in some local kitchen just so he can watch the local cooks at work. His cuisine is hard to judge, because it is quite unusual, for instance because he uses all sorts of unconventional spices. Honza's food tastes great to young people who did not come to the ship to eat Czech classics :-) His cooking on La Grace in 2022-23 was interrupted by a big journey to the southern hemisphere, but we will be meeting him on board again soon.
Libuše Žáková
(1960)
She has spent her whole life in all sorts of kitchens: from hotels to works canteens to children's camps. She loves cooking and she does it really well. She came to La Grace in the summer of 2023 thanks to her son, who had been here and told her about the ship. Being the adventurous type, she signed up for a voyage straight away, and straight into the galley. She is cheerful and friendly and quickly fitted into the permanent crew...
Bronislava Nierostková
(1975)
Although she had sailed on the ship before as a cadet, her first baptism in the galley came in the summer of 2023. And she started very well. Her excellent potato pancakes were appreciated by more than just the ship's captain, and her crêpes by all the children at the pirate camp. In time she showed that she can season things other than the flat ones brilliantly too, and so we are glad to have her here! :-)
Julie Vokůrková
(1980)
She came to the island of Elba in 2023 to cook at a campsite. But as we kept sailing past under her windows, one word led to another, and she turned up in our galley, right on her first voyage. Easy-going and a great partner for any bit of fun, she soon won the hearts of the cadets and the permanent crew. And above all their stomachs! :-) In 2025 she interrupted her cooking in our galley because of family duties, but we all hope she will come back.
Marta Nedvědová
(1971)
I have sailed with Marta many times in various corners of the world, and although she is happy at sea anywhere, she has taken a real liking to La Grace. She loves horses, and in fact all the stray animals she has found, of which she has a houseful. And just as she knows how to look after them, she knows how to look after our forever hungry cadets.
Deck petty officers
David Vávra, Radka Zounková, Gabri Kunst, Vašek Pospíšil, Jan Peterka, Adam Silber, Martin Burlant, Dalibor Pavelka...
External sailors
Věra Tannerová
(1975)
Rather than on board, you will most often "meet" Věrka by e-mail or over the phone when booking voyages on La Grace. She will gladly advise you on everything and explain it all. Věrka is an invaluable part of the La Grace team. On board La Grace s.r.o. she takes care of taxes.
Petr Tanner
(1973)
Helmsman and co-owner of the ship. A great guy, a pirate and a mate for rough weather. He helped the ship a great deal financially in Egypt and with work in Spain, and it is worth mentioning that his daughter Eliška is La Grace's godmother. A great support in his life and in La Grace's is his wife Věrka, without whom La Grace would not currently be what she is economically.
Ship's carpenters
Vilém Pavlica
If it were not for Vilda, maybe La Grace would never have existed at all :-( In 2009-2010 this chap from Wallachia took on all the woodworking that could be made outside Egypt, and sent it to us in a container to the building site in Africa. Later on too he helped wherever he could, as far as his means allowed. His work includes the rigging, the blocks, the cleats and much more.
Pepa Dvořák
Pepa came on a voyage as a cadet, but you know how it goes. You show that you are good at something, and because La Grace badly needs people like that, before long your workshop is making whatever the ship needs :-) His work includes the beautiful frigate stern, the rope chests and the barrels, but also many other things inside and out.
Milan Studnička
Milan also turned up here as a cadet, but because he is a professional carpenter, he helped us with a whole lot of structural elements, making sure they actually worked. His by far greatest achievement on our ship is the new teak deck.
Other sailors
Petr Scheirich
As the first ship's navigator he took La Grace across the Atlantic Ocean using nothing but the stars. He builds period nautical instruments such as the octant, the hand lead and the log. He has been a great enthusiast for La Grace from the very beginning and has many voyages and volunteer work stints behind him that have helped the ship enormously. What mostly keeps him from sailing more often is his work at the observatory in Ondřejov. :-D
Jindřich Vodrážka
Besides many voyages as a cadet, as boatswain he commanded in English a complete crew of Italians serving on La Grace as crew members from HMS Amphion. These days he devotes more time to his family than to La Grace, but even so we all believe he will be back on board soon.
Tomáš Novotný
External first mate on La Grace. He sailed with us in the Tall Ships Race in 2013 and in 2015. He studied at a maritime school in Barcelona and helps us handle maritime matters abroad in Spanish. A great guy and a great mate.
We are often looking for more people for the permanent crew
The core crew consists of 5 professions: captain, boatswain (rigging), engineer (engines, electrics, water) and a good cook. We have recently expanded our ranks with so-called Watchleaders - watch commanders - and Deckleaders - deck petty officers - as well as the organisers of individual activities (fencers, gunners, camp leaders and so on). The main prerequisite for working on La Grace is a relationship with historical ships and a willingness to work in the given field. La Grace is a unique and technically very complex ship, and that is why preference is given to applicants from among the people who have taken part in repairs to the ship or have already sailed on her several times. That helps them a great deal to know the ship well from the organisational and technical side, and also to fit into the team. If you are interested, please apply at