Renowned ocean rowing boat builder Justin Adkin is rejoining the teaching team at the Boat Building Academy and Furniture School (BBA) in Lyme Regis, Dorset.
The winning skipper in the 2005/6 Atlantic Rowing Race is returning to the BBA after time away running his own successful business and will be teaching full time from January 2025 on the 40-week boat building course.
Justin was brought up on boats in the fishing village of Beer on the East Devon coast, a short sail from Lyme.
Aged 18 during an engineering apprenticeship, he built his first boat, a trad clinker, and realised this was where his passion lay.
Off the back of his photographic CV, he got a job with renowned racing dinghy builders ‘Spud’ Rowsell & Phil Morrison in Exmouth and spent the first three years building Salcombe Yawls.
When Spud retired in 2003 Justin managed the workshop under his own name Rowsell & Adkin and built ocean rowing boats including the world record holding four ‘Queensgate’ and All Relative, the 24ft boat in which he, his brother Robert, and their cousins Martin Adkin and James Green rowed to victory in the 2005/6 Atlantic Rowing Race.
Twenty-six teams from all around the world entered the 2,550 nautical mile race, with Justin and his team crossing the finish line 770 nautical miles ahead of their nearest competitor.
Since then, Justin has served as an ‘at sea’ Race Officer for the ‘NOMAN’ Mediterranean rowing races and spent time in California on the support crew running the trans-Pacific rowing races. He also served as a RNLI lifeboat crew member.
After previously serving as a tutor at the BBA from 2006-11 he set up in Axminster producing racing rowing and sailing boats.
He said: “I’m really happy to be rejoining the BBA and am looking forward to guiding the next generation of boat builders into both the traditional and modern aspects of the marine industry.
“I’ll also enjoy being back amongst the immensely talented team of tutors which I know includes some new faces, as well as many familiar ones.”
Will Reed, Director of the BBA said: “I am delighted Justin will be joining our brilliant team once again. His calm, unflappable character and wealth of knowledge and experience across traditional and modern boat building is perfectly suited to teaching students of all ages. He also has a great sense of humour and is a joy to be around.”
“We are extremely proud of our brilliant team of tutors, who are selected not only for their exceptional boat building experience and ability, but also for their extraordinary teaching and communication skills.”