Showing posts with label Bob Bitchin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bob Bitchin. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Strictly Sail Chicago - 2014 (cont.)

Bob Bitchin. Now there is a name for a sailor. Bob Bitchin's real name, Robert Lipkin, just doesn't do him justice. He is a large, burly man who is full of life, laughter and a hint of philosophy. If you aren't familiar with Bob then you are missing out. His life story, biker, druggie, biker magazine editor, writer, actor, sailing lifestyle magazine creator and sailor, speaks of a life fully lived. He has lived hard and fast while experiencing the world.

 

I first heard of Bob when I was a sailing novice and read a copy of his Lats and Atts magazine. He wrote of sailing and experiencing the world from the deck of a boat. I immediately decided this man had an interesting slant on life and couldn't wait to read more. His writing often explores some fundamental human trait or action from his particular view...sometimes funny and sometimes philosophical, but always entertaining. I've continued to read Bob's writings and watch his TV show episodes as I have grown as a sailor and look forward to his future offerings.

Brenda and I were joined by some friends at Bob's Strictly Sail seminar, How to keep a Starboard Attitude While Cruising, and we all thoroughly enjoyed Bob's presentation. Although I had met Bob briefly last year at the show, this was the first time I had a chance to really hear his ideas and experiences at length. After the seminar we went to Bob's Cruising Outpost (his new magazine) booth to renew our subscription and talk to Bob in person for a few minutes. I came away wishing we could just pull up a couple of barstools and talk at length.

Well Bob Bitchin, you have definitely played a role in helping me persue my dream of cruising. I hope someday our sailboats will share a tropical bay, so we can tip a beverage and talk about sailing and life.

 

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Strictly Sail Chicago Trip

Our hotel near Navy Pier
So, what is wrong with sailors?  We travel long distances, pay admission fees, stay in over-priced hotels, pay waaaaaay too much for food and drink just to look at sailboats that we will never (and I mean never) be able to afford.  Well, it may be that sailors love to interact with other sailors, argue over the best brands, look for ideas to improve our own boats, or simply spend time dreaming about sailing.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere.  (Mike and Jim got their Drambuie later)


Brenda and I, along with our sailing buddies Jim and Joni, traveled down to Chicago for the Strictly Sail Show where we checked out all the beautiful sailboats and equipment.  Catalina, Hunter, Island Packet, Seaward, Jeanneau, Beneteau, Com-Pac, and others all had their latest and greatest offerings.  We spent all of Saturday looking them over as well as checking out all the supplier's booths.
 

Checking out the "purdy" boats

It is fun to look at all the whiz bang gadgets and fortunately we didn't find anything that we couldn't live without. Lots of stuff we wanted and maybe even lusted after, but nothing followed us home.  One highlight of the show was meeting Bob Bitchin of Lats and Atts fame.  We have always enjoyed his magazine and the DVD's of his TV show episodes.  He is a big man in frame and personality, so getting our picture taken with him was pretty cool.

Bob Bitchin

Another highlight was meeting the builder of our Com-Pac 19, Rich Hutchins.  It was fun to talk shop with him and look over the three CP's he brought to the show.

CP-23 Pilothouse
Com-Pac display


So, now that we know we can't afford a shiny new whiz bang special sailboat, we can happily go about our search for a used sailboat knowing that what we end up with will be much more suitable for blue water adventuring.
The view from our hotel was worth it!