From Lotca to Canotca

The dinghy is a symbol and messenger of the Danube Delta. Visiting the Delta in the rhythm of a rowing boat is the best way to get to know and understand the local ecosystem. The story of the Danube Delta boat trips begins in the 17th-18th centuries. Ukrainians from the Dniester, Dnieper and Bug brought to the Delta perhaps the most beautiful emblem of their ethnicity - the anglerfish. In their turn, the Lipovans also brought with them a larger 12-keak fishing boat, the duba - the most important vehicle in the life of fishermen in the area. The word "Lipovean" comes from the Russian "lipa" (linden), recalling the fugitives, the Bejenars, who hid in the linden forests during the time of Tsarina Catherine II, following the religious persecution. Their faith kept them together, as did their traditions - even today we still see houses of the Lipovan or Ukrainian type made of adobe, covered with reed, with the north wall always lined with wood as a rainscreen, painted in the traditional blue or green colors, making them instantly recognizable. Both the Lipovians and the Ukrainians have preserved many things left over from the 17th-18th centuries; they have brought with them songs, traditions, stories and a history handed down orally, with all the metamorphoses they have gone through. But above all they brought and preserved the fishing tradition in the area.

Lotca used to be the center of existence for the locals of the Danube Delta. The wealthy had a cart, the lotca, on the other hand, they all had one. Without the boat, life in the middle of the water would have been impossible. It's a vehicle that has proven its usefulness over hundreds of years. It's a means of livelihood, but it's also a means of transportation incomparable to the fiberglass boat. The boat has shortened the distance between settlements, helped the people of the Delta to be active and healthy, and has left its mark on their lives and customs. Even today in the Delta, wood and reed cannot be transported by fiberglass boat. Not to mention the transportation of beehives, another symbolic element of the traditional local economy, for which the locals still use the beehive boat.

The Danube Delta has given the world dozens of Olympic and world kayak and canoe champions. All these great athletes, born in villages in the area, learned to row a wooden boat. The best-known champion from the Danube Delta, a native of Lipove, is Ivan Patzaichin, a four-time gold medallist and three-time silver medallist at the 1968, 1972, 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics.

The fact that today's Delta is overrun by motorboats and angler angler fishing is no longer being produced is an effect of social and economic change. However, nature and people risk losing, along with the anglerfish, the balance they have maintained for hundreds of years in the local ecosystem. A new role for the monkfish can be found by reinterpreting tradition and technological innovation.

Through innovation, the burbot will find a well-defined place in the new local economy. Producing the lotca again in local workshops means saving the rowing tradition, creating jobs, income for locals and a green vehicle for responsible tourism. The form of tourism we have identified as doing good for the place is ecotourism or, as we call it, slow tourism. It is a form of tourism in which you discover the place, the people and the customs slowly, with respect and curiosity. Ecotourism, as a chance to generate an economy based on nature and local human resources, gives the lotus a new place in the local economy. Just as the gondola is the iconic vehicle of Venice, the gondola will in a few years become the green vehicle to visit the Danube Delta. Guided by locals, tourists will discover the most peaceful landscapes, the most protected areas and the most authentic local customs from a boat.

In 2010, on the initiative of Ivan Patzaichin, we set about designing a new model of wooden boat in demand by nature-loving tourists. They generally use imported canoes or kayaks, often made of plastic. In order to preserve the cultural landscape of the area (in which the shape of the lotca is an identifying element), we thought that we could come up with a boat that was functionally appropriate to the demand, but without straying too far from the lotca. We took the specific qualities of a canoe and the profile of the traditional lotca and made a spirited boat for adventure tourists.

We set out in search of a marangoz and found an extraordinary man, Eng. Paul Vasiliu, who owns Tulcea's only wooden boat building workshop, the Geneza company. Paul together with Ivan defined the hull of the boat, which got the name "canoe". As an architect, I contributed to the design and outfitting of the boat. From the very beginning we also set out to make a paddle with a personality, with a shape inspired by the traditional paddle, which we later took over in the Patzaikin product brand logo.

In 2012 we opened the first canoe rental center in Crișan, which is enjoying more and more interest from tourists every year.

In 2012, we launched 10+1 canoes. They are boats similar to dragon boat type, for those who want to go for rides, but also for competitions on the water. The 10+1 rowboat is already the star of several international rowing competitions and the vehicle we use in mini-festivals on urban rivers, as part of the "Romania seen from the boat" program.

In 2014, when we realized that the dinghy was on its way to extinction (did you know that since 2006 no new dinghies have been built and the workshops have disappeared?), we decided to build the tourist and fishing-tourism dinghy for those who want to experience nature in peace, together with a local who knows the area and the local customs. Pesca-tourism, which can be practiced at Mila 23, is a one-day experience with the fisherman, where you discover the secrets of traditional fishing and then how to make a fish soup in the middle of the pond. It's an experience never to forget!

The types of canoes have diversified recently. We currently produce 4 models of canoes: Rowmania (for tourism), Patzaikin Gold (for collectors), Patzaikin Light (with electric motor to support the "march"), Patzaikin Adventure (catamaran type with solar electric motor, for boats that are sold on the local market, but also for export). Both dinghies and dinghies are hand-made, so that the products are of outstanding quality; the production capacity is small, the manufacturing period is generally 3 months from the launch of the order.