Friends, Fellow Sailors, Boat Builders, Kindred Spirits and Adventurers Worldwide
Disaster struck on November 4th, 2025, and the community boat shop we put together and operated for the people of Ama for the past four years was totally destroyed.
From the Oki Island UNESCO Global Geopark, Shimane Prefecture, Japan
After much thought and hesitation we have decided to let friends know about this tragedy and disaster that struck here. As awkward as this feels, sometimes in this life we have to ask for a helping hand.
In the middle of the night, a fire started in the guesthouse next to the shop and tragically claimed the life of the owner. The fire jumped to the boat shop and both buildings were completely destroyed. A community resource is gone, and this tiny island community of 2,200 souls is in a kind of mourning. The boat shop was a very public focal point on the main road to the port and so one way or another everyone drove by and many visitors joined us in the shop.
The programs and classes offered by the shop touched the lives of many here, from elementary school kids to elderly citizens. Boats were built, classes taught, including boat building, woodworking, youth and adult sailing classes, and most importantly, the rebirth of 75 to 100-year-old traditional work boats known as Kanko Bune. The work was wide ranging including the five day build of a cello for a concert series. It was built from local Sugi, scrap wood and beach finds.
The five day cello. A gift to the people of Ama that played beautifully, was sadly lost in the fire after existing for just over a month.
My dear friend John Welsford in the shop, a shop he loved.
SCAMP sailboats were built, OzGoose were built, a John Welsford Tender Behind, a "Kaze" custom sailing canoe of my design, several other canoes, and more.
In addition, a unique STEM project solar-powered GPS trackable mini boat I designed and built with a group of Ama high school students was created and was about to set sail across the Pacific to be tracked by anyone in the world with a cell phone or computer as a great teaching aid.
Sadly it was lost in the fire just days before setting sail. The idea was to link students here with students wherever the boat was eventually found. On the deck contact information was posted and inside were gifts, origami and letters.
Boat building classes. Three of our apprentice builders. In four years more than a dozen apprentices spent time learning in the shop. At the time of the fire two apprentices, Yutani san and Hiro san made up our team.
Yutani and Hiro with students who made cutting boards.
The Kanko Bune project turned into an annual all-island regatta featuring racing with Kanko's I restored. These boats raced often manned by elderly captains with families as crew. This past September was the fourth annual All Island regatta with a huge crowd and more teams than ever.
A new SCAMP and a Kanko Bune.
The boat shop also conducted inflatable boat tours of the beautiful coastline and caves. We offered kayaking lessons, canoe sailing lessons, SCAMP sailing lessons and with five Optimist prams, sailing lessons for kids.
The shop also served the local fishing fleet with repair services.
Public wood working classes were held and were very popular. The shop was a community gathering place.
Two OzGoose were built for adult sailing classes, and only one survived the fire. In all, nine boats were destroyed in the fire, including a work of art sailing canoe I designed and built for a client.
The loss is made all the more difficult as all the tools, designs, and wood inventory were destroyed. To top it all off, the sad news is that the government-owned building was underinsured as it was a renovated building, and the insurance did not cover any of the contents of the building or the nine boats destroyed.
This work of sailing art was one of nine boats destroyed.
Sadly, the building won't be rebuilt due to the insufficient insurance coverage, which covers the expensive clean up process as all debris has to be shipped to the mainland for disposal. So we are scrambling to find a new way forward without resources.
Our hope is to have some ability to start over as we are left without even a screwdriver, which is pretty much exactly how I started four years ago.
This video was shot today. Years of work and community service are close to being but a memory.
So we am appealing to friends, kindred spirits, sailors and educators.
Will you help us rise from the ashes? Anything you can do, no matter how small, will be a huge help.
Thank you!
Howard Rice and Friends of the Boat Shop
Organizer
