The Inglorious End (UPDATE – IT’S BACK!) of “Latitudes & Attitudes”

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LATITUDES AND ATTITUDES MAGAZINE IS BACK – READ HERE

The sailing lifestyle magazine, founded by Bob Bitchin, was brought down by lies, bad checks and unscrupulous outsiders.

The sudden and unexpected demise last June of Latitudes & Attitudes—a popular sailing and cruising magazine based in King Harbor—stunned staff and boating enthusiasts alike.

The magazine, which launched a TV series by the same name, was founded in 1996 by former Redondo Beach resident Bob Bitchin (whose birth name is Robert Lipkin) and his wife Jody.

What many don’t know is the underlying drama of the magazine’s end, a story worthy of “Law and Order,” one that revolves around broken contracts, bad checks, defaulted debts, unscrupulous characters and innocent lives that came perilously close to financial ruin.

It’s also the story of friends riding to the rescue, dreams restored, and a new magazine, Cruising Outpost, that helped the Bitchins and their staff rise from the ashes.

It all began last January when the Bob and Jody Bitchin sold their company, Latitudes & Attitudes Seafaring International, to Dennis “DJ” Doran, CEO of Sextant Publishing.

Speaking by phone and email from his current home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains this weekend, Bitchin, 68, said the million dollar sale to Doran and his partner, Joe Morales. included the company’s television and radio ventures, exotic boat charters, boat show operations, and Living Aboard magazine.

Part of the sales agreement, Bitchin said, stipulated that he and his wife Jody were to act as paid consultants for three years and that the L&A staff would remain in place.
As reported in January by Three Sheets Northwest, a boating business site, DJ Doran announced ambitious plans for the company, including updating the magazine, launching tablet and e-reader applications, expanding the television operation and developing new lines of products for the store.
“Our goal is to preserve the style and feel of the magazine and its peripheral operations while redeveloping its core businesses to better serve our loyal fans and introduce the magazine to a new generation of readers,” the Sextant CEO said at the time.
Except that didn’t happen.

Six months after Sextant Publishing took over the magazine, a staffer went to open the office at King Harbor last June, only to find a notice on the door saying, “Offices Closed until Further Notice.”

The locks had been changed, Bitchin said, and the staff—the few left after numerous layoffs by Sextant—was out on its ear.

Bitchin later discovered that the July issue had not gone to print, even though advertisers had been billed. Company credit cards had been abruptly cancelled, bills were unpaid, and the Bitchins found themselves teetering on bankruptcy.

Not only was the couple out the $1,000,000 for the sale of the magazine, but they were still on the hook for almost half-a-million dollars in debt.

“Jody and I put our lives into the magazine,” Bitchin said. “I miss it every day.”

(Attempts by Patch to reach Doran, Morales or Sextant Publishing for comment were to no avail.)

Mainly due to friends who helped them financially and emotionally, the Bitchins climbed out of their despair and returned to doing the things they love, including attending boat shows, holding cruising parties, and acting as consultants for Cruising Outpost, an online and quarterly and print magazine.

Although the Bitchins are prohibited from owning Cruising Outpost due to legal reasons the magazine employs many of their former staff members, some of whom, like the Bitchins, were left high and dry in June.

Some background.

Most know Robert Lipkin, 68, by his pen name Bob Bitchin. He “coined” the name in the early sixties, he said, when it was given to him by Tommy Chong of the comedy team, Cheech and Chong.

“Tommy and I worked out together at Gold’s Gym,” Bitchin said, and the comedy album, “Up in Smoke”, in which the name was used, had just come out.

A prolific author and lecturer, Bitchin wrote hundreds of articles under his pen name in the 1970s for Choppers, Street Bike, Easyriders, Forbes and Newlook,” he said. His nine books are also published under Bob Bitchin.

A formidable presence, with multiple tattoos, a barrel chest and curly graying-blond hair and beard, Bitchin once acted as a traveling companion and bodyguard for motorcycle daredevil Evil Knievel.

An avid Harley man, he traveled the world on his motorcycle, promoted motorcycle shows in the ‘70s and early ‘80s and created Biker Magazine and Tattoo Magazine.

But it was a three-month sail from San Francisco to Guatemala in the late seventies aboard the Stone Witch, a 74-foot, square-rigged, topsail schooner, that changed his life. “The Stone Witch was the flag-ship for Green Peace,” Bitchin said. “It had no engine, ran kerosene running lights, and used four 21-foot oars for propulsion.”

Bitchin’s account of that first day at sea can be found on his Cruising Outpost website, where he writes: “I thought I was going to die. I was amazed that the guy who was steering the boat didn’t even look concerned. As the wind caught the sail and we heeled over, I grabbed this big old chromed thingy (I later learned it was called a winch) and hung on for dear life. Now, 100,000 miles and 35 years later, I still get excited when I head out to sea.”

The voyage also saved him from a life of sex, drugs and rock and roll, he said.

Sober and healthy, Bitchin soon began buying boats to live on, fix up and sell. He sold Biker and Tattoo magazines to Easyriders in 1986. In 1990, he bought a 68-foot staysail ketch, Lost Soul, where he lived for the next 17 years.

During the early ‘90s, he fell in love with and “kidnapped” Jody, a pretty bartender, with flowing brown hair, at the Portofino Marina Yacht Club.

“We knew each other for years but never dated, until 1991,” said Bitchin, who asked her then and there if she wanted to go to the islands. “She thought I meant Catalina. I meant Tahiti.”

They ended up cruising all over the world, and, upon their return, married on board the Lost Soul while docked at the Portofino Marina.

Launching Latitudes & Attitudes, a magazine devoted to sailing and world cruising, was a natural next step. The TV series, created by Bitchin and Darren O’Brien (who is he, a staff member????), was the first and only nationally televised show about the sailing lifestyle, said Bitchin, who appeared as host for 65 episodes.

The show aired for five seasons and was in world-wide syndication—until the sale to Sextant Publishing—which brings us to the abrupt demise of the magazine in June.

When responding to the news on a boating website, one individual commented: “Either (new owners) paid way too much for it and couldn’t get a return, or…there is the possibility they hadn’t paid all the cash up front and decided to cut and run.”

Well, all of the above and more.

After the Bitchins signed the sales agreement on January 13, 2012, and Sextant Publishing took over management of the company, Bob & Jody thought their troubles were over. They had gotten their asking price and agreed to Doran’s idea of his paying off the company debt instead of paying a cash down payment, thus saving on taxes.

Somewhere between the letter-of-intent and the sales agreement, Bitchin said, the collateral had changed from what was being sold (the assets of the company known as Latitudes & Attitudes & Seafaring) to stock in the new company.

Doran said it was “the same thing,” Bitchin said, because if Sextant defaulted, Bob & Jody would own the whole shebang again, which made sense—at the time.

During the next few months, Doran paid the Bitchins their consultant fee, and 10 percent interest on the almost $1,000,000 still owed. Staff was paid, and Doran even said he’d purchased the Lost Soul, asking the Bitchins to sail it to various boat shows.

Along with sailing, writing and planning their retirement, the couple attended to their Bitchin Ranch, 40 tree-covered acres that sit between the north and middle forks of the Feather River overlooking Lake Oroville.

This was the “pinnacle” of their euphoria, Bitchin said. “Things couldn’t get any better.” Or so they thought.

Still, almost from the beginning, there was reason to worry, said Bitchin, who admitted to “living in a fool’s paradise.”

The first large clue that “things were not what they seemed,” Bitchin said, was when he got a call from American Express, telling him that all company Amex Cards were being cancelled, along with their personal credit cards, due to a $9,000 Sextant check that had bounced.

Stunned, he next found that all company credit cards had been cancelled, something hidden from him, since all the bills went to the office in King Harbor.

Part of the sales agreement, Bitchin said, had been to keep all credit cards current until the assumption of debt was paid off.

Excuses were made.

But the new owners soon began liquidating products from the Ship’s Store at massive discounts. A check for the Bitchins’ consulting fees and interest bounced; and suppliers began calling Bob to complain about lack of payment for supplies.

Bitchin called his lawyer.

The next thing he knew, the office was closed, the Sextant Publishing and Latitude & Attitude sites taken down, and Doran and Morales, after absconding with computers and equipment, nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, a Share the Sail event set for May was going to be cancelled, even though Sextant had accepted all the payments and failed to pay suppliers.

To keep the event afloat, a Latitudes and Attitudes’ staff member, Peter Wood Henderson, known in boating circles as Captain Woody, stepped in and paid out of his own pocket after Sextant agreed to sign over the Share The Sail to him.

Captain Woody was also one of the many who rallied to the Bitchins’ side to help create a new magazine.

Loyal Latitude & Attitude subscribers, incensed at what had happened, agreed to pay for five-year subscriptions, offered at a lump sum of $250, so the old staff could be rehired and the magazine and site could launch. These folks were “The Founders Circle” which made the new Cruising Outpost possible.

The first issue of the quarterly is due out in December.

Since the demise of Latitudes & Attitudes, Bob and Jody Bitchin spend their time between cruising and reporting on boat shows for the new publication.

Bob Bitchin, author of seven books, including The Sailing Life, King Harbor and Starboard Attitude (released in June of 2011), continues to write and hold seminars on sailing. The books are available on his website, bobbitchin.com.

By Katherine Lowrie
The Redondo Beach Patch

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39 COMMENTS

  1. What about Lost Soul ? As an "OLG "( old retired guy ) eternally and financially involved as the steward of 73 Trojan "32 FB Sedan ( not smart enough and not enough time to learn to sail so I push the red knobs on the 454'S gently and wait for the end of the month ) I lusted over the Lost Soul and Stacy's World Conncord 47 articles in Lat"s & Att"s. What about Capt. Woody & Tania ? "Never give up the ship "( or magazine) but that"s been said before. Yes ,i'M subscribiging .( BTW also am an x Suzy dresser driver (couldn't afford a Harley but no tats.) Never let "um see you cry !
    Larry West
    Aboard MY Westwind IV

  2. Ok, ya got me! I have been reading Bob Bitchin's 'Rag Trash' for years and he has talked me into more crap that he made sound like I just had to do THAT! … I grew up in the 60's, I am from Bass Lake, CA and spent my life around bikes and boats (killing plenty of brain cells along the way) … I have three old Harleys…. and walked away from my last sailboat during a divorce… so now I get to retire in another year or so … no gold watch… no golden handshake… just a 'get the hell out!' … I am buying another sailboat. In the meantime… I am subscribing to this new publication to get a few more worthless ideas… (that I cannot live without!) from Bob Bitchin'!!!

    Cheers and glad to see you are ready to 'kick butt' again!

    Herschel Weeks
    Dushanbe, Tajikistan

    • Kewl… another life ruined! They say you can measure your success by how many peoples lives you affect. I guess I have been a success, as I have ruined hundreds of lives that way!

  3. Holy Bat Sh*# Batman!!! I was in the process of moving about that time and am now living under a rock, so please forgive me for just finding out about all this. I was a subscriber before so I will of course be one again. I would say "Bob Bitchin for president!" but I know he's too smart for that. Good luck and maybe I'll see you at the boat show.

  4. Wow… Just heard about all this from Eric Stone tonight.. Had to come home and look it up. I really, really like Bob, Jody Woody and all the gang though I don't imagine they could pick me out f a crowd of two. I am now on a search to find out about the we mag and if there is anything we can do to help. These folks helped define my dreams.

  5. Hi Bob & Jody,
    Purchased your magazine each month and was disappointed when supply stopped. How can I purchase your new magazine. Keep up the good work.

    • Thanks Jack – Under "Get The Magazine" button at the top left this site there are options for subscriptions or buying single print and digital issues.

  6. To Bobby Jody, Woody and the gang….in the words of the great paul wellstone….Stand Up Keep Fighting! Love the energy from you folks and will track down your fun butts in the future…or see you on the water.

  7. Thanks for your love and dedication to this endeavor. My wife and I were brought the cruising life by Att/Lats. Thank you Bob, my wife and I are actively seeking our worldwide nautical RV here in NE Florida. We'll see you all around Christmas Cove soon.

  8. Bob,
    I have been in Afghanistan for the last three years and just found out. It seems you had a shakedown and now you know who your friends are, and that is priceless. If there is anyway I can help and how do I get subscribed to the new magazine?
    Paul

  12. Love the new magazine– the editing is better, the format is better, and if one can get past the changes in the names of once-familiar departments the whole experience is just the same as ever only better. Best of luck to you all– and I look forward to seeing you all on the East Coast boat show circuit again!

  13. Sadden by the news of Lat/Att, seafaring and the hell the Bitchin went through! Guess I've been living under a rock! Love the new magazine and a million thank you's for all that you put into Lat/Att! You introduced this former landlocked fool, to the world of cruising; changed my life forever! Thanks for everything!

  14. Bob, I still remember receiving 1970s Biker News FTW delivered right to my pad at 405 Marine Ave in Mahhatan Beach Ca for 5 dollars a month Bikers and Sailors have so much in common all the way down to the tattoo's and I should have signed on when you were looking for your first crew it would have been fun.

  15. I had no idea all this bad luck had happened to Bob and Jody after the sale of Lats and Atts. I hope the new venture works out; I will subscribe to Cruising Outpost and continue to wish the best to the Bitchins.

  16. This event really took the wind out of my sails! After all the hard work of creating a business just to have it all demolished my a couple of low lives really sucks! Does anybody know where these yahoos are? I would think that they would be a prime target for a class action suit after obsconding with a lot of peoples money. Any one know when the legal stuff will be over and it can be discussed? My hope would be that bitchen would prevail in court and get the mag back so that we can all enjoy it again. I am taking off on my Hardin 45 next week for awhile to contemplate life and try and put this behind me.

  19. Lats and Atts inspired me to see what was out in the world. One way or another I travelled the world. But most importantly was the writing. Down to earth filled with humor and practical insights. Loved the pics also, cute gals and wonderful boats. Anyway, I would like to see the magazine continue. Let me know I would like to see how you structure the organization.

  21. I am happy to see that you guys are back at writing and keeping us abreast of the sailing world. I was and still am pissed about the whole deal. You folks inspired me.

  22. We had been wondering what had happened to the magazine and why we had not seen a renewal request. Today I "googled" Latitudes and Attitudes and found this very informative post. I just subscribed to your new magazine, and hope all is well with you guys.

  31. These are your boys, right? From LinkedIn …

    Joe Morales
    Editor / IT / Marketing at Gaycation Magazine
    Naperville, IllinoisMedia Production
    Current
    Gaycation Magazine, Prism Werks, The Gayly Post

    DJ Doran
    Founder/Editor in Chief at Gaycation Magazine
    New York, New YorkPublishing
    Current
    Gaycation Magazine
    Previous
    Connextions Magazine, Sextant Publishing, Inc.
    Education
    Carey High School

  32. In Feb 2005 did a bareboat cruise with friends out of St. Maarten. My wife Kathy had just been diagnosed with ovarian Cancer – its a bad one. Picked up a copy of "Lats and Atts" in the airport since we weren't sailors and hoped to get a quick learn and intro.

    Your mantra, "Attitude, the difference between Ordeal and Adventure" became our mantra for the next 5 years. We traveled the globe, lived life fully, and packed a lifetime into the time we had and lived by the "Attitude". Sorry to read the story of the mags demise. Just know, you were an inspiration to us and I am sure to countless others. I still have our t-shirts , the hat, and the retainer clip.

    Thanks

  33. I KNEW that a big ugly guy like you would not be a PUSSY.
    Glad to hear that you kicked ass and came out on top.
    Best of luck with the reactivated rag.
    Have you decided to call it Lats and Atts or Cruising Outpost?
    Both are good names.

    Where do I subscribe?

  34. Glad you are getting the trademark name back. We were at this years St Pete boat show, we won the big prize this year. The Winchrite electric winch handle. It arrived two days ago and I'm looking forward to trying it out.
    We will see you and Jody at the Miami strictly sail boat show in February. If you need Volunteers, we may want to offer our services.
    Thanks for all you two do for us Cruisers
    Jim Guthormsen

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