The small town lies close to the Polish border, around two hours north-east of Prague.
The club will host five events this year, the first of which was on Saturday, March 14, and entitled Czechs Captivated by Orkney: Between the Tide and the Whisper of Standing Stones.
It featured a talk from a crew, including Mr Hemrlík, who sailed from Oban to Orkney as well as whisky tasting and sea shanties.
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The event promo said: “The Highlander Krafárna invites you to a talk show that smells of sea salt, the creaking of masts and Scottish single malt whisky.
“An evening where stories emerge from the fog that you wouldn’t find on the map. We will talk about how to rent a boat in Scotland and why rubber boots are more important than swimwear. About the Caledonian Canal, which cuts Scotland in half and where you run out of patience before you run out of fuel. About stars that you can navigate by, even if the GPS freezes and the fog swallows the whole world around you.”
Following the launch of the project, its founder spoke to Deník about his love for Scotland.
Mr Hemrlík said: “80% of the time we would like to prepare Czech topics – the life of highlanders, old crafts, extinct crafts… To make it regional. We would like to focus a lot on the Orlické mountains, connect the past with the present, organise workshops, and 20% should be Scotland, which is still in my heart. I am a lover of Scottish culture.
“I was interested in Scotland already when I was young, so I went to see it for myself. And then, when I moved to Rokytnice in 2000 I was standing there in a kilt, in an old Scottish tartan, in front of the castle like the biggest oddball. Everyone was looking at me as if I were crazy. And since then a few of my friends here have gone a bit mad about it too, and now we have Highland games here.
“This year I am taking my son to the sea for the first time and coincidentally to Scotland, I said to myself that 13 is the ideal age for him to learn life at sea, to motivate him a little to learn English.
“I have already stopped counting how many times I have been there. I admit that the Outer Hebrides is my favourite, but in the end every part of Scotland, whether you are in the Highlands or around Edinburgh, is amazing. It’s the same as here in the Czech Republic. At least that’s how I perceive it.
“The Scottish culture is definitely vibrant, but it’s also true that Czechs have this mentality where they can dive so deeply into their interests that – if I compare it to Scotland – they can end up being more Scottish than the Scots themselves. From what I’ve seen, for them it’s a family identity, a part of their everyday life. They don’t see it as something exotic the way we do.
“Though even today there are clans who can’t stand each other. You’ll sometimes see, for example, a sign at the entrance to a pub saying that Campbells are forbidden entry. Those petty little squabbles have always been there.”