Mikhail Shamkin Named GM. Bitter End Yacht Club

North Sound, Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands

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. October 14, 2008

CHICAGO, IL, September 6, 2006. Mikhail Shamkin has been named General Manager of Bitter End Yacht Club, the world's premier sailing and watersports destination located on the North Sound, Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands. He will also oversee the resort's sales and marketing efforts. A 30-year hospitality industry veteran, Shamkin brings extensive resort and marina management, planning and development expertise, along with a wealth of accounting, sales and marketing, and food and beverage experience to his new role.

"I am pleased to welcome resort industry veteran Mikhail Shamkin to the Bitter End family. We look forward to having his steady hand at the helm," said Dana Hokin, Owner and Managing Director. "We selected Shamkin because he is someone who will not only oversee our multi-million dollar renovation, but also continue to grow and enhance the unique vacation experience boaters and travelers have come to expect from us for more than 30 years."

As General Manager of Bitter End Yacht Club, Shamkin will oversee all aspects of the resort, from financial management to employee administration to on-going development of the guest experience. Shamkin will live on the property and be available to guests and employees 24 hours a day.

"Bitter End is already high on the discriminating traveler's itinerary when they visit by boat and it's also a dream destination for a shoreside vacation. I look forward to working with the dedicated Bitter End staff as we focus on continuing to grow the legendary qualities of our premier resort and to welcome new visitors to our corner of paradise," said Mikhail Shamkin, Bitter End Yacht Club General Manager. "And if we can create a few legends of our own in the process, well, I can live with that, too.

"For me, being at the Bitter End Yacht Club is like a homecoming," Shamkin noted. "It takes me back in time to 1976, when I first sailed into North Sound from Antigua. My thought then - as it is now - is that this would be a wonderful place to live."

Shamkin began his career in Antigua West Indies as the manager of Hawksbill Beach Resort. Since then, he has managed a variety of high end resorts, including the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. His time in the industry has taken him to such well-known Caribbean destinations as Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. Most recently, Shamkin served as the General Manager at the Vanderbilt Hall Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island.

In addition to his experience in the hospitality industry, Shamkin enjoys sailboat racing. He has competed in a number of races throughout the Caribbean and Florida including Lost Horizon II, Mag 7, Mistress Quickly, Supercilious, Running Tide, War Baby and the Duchess of Devonshire, and others.

He was on the winning crew during an Antigua Race Week and three International Rolex Regattas as well as several British Virgin Islands regattas. Shamkin has earned both a 25 ton USCG license and 50 ton Merchant Officer Certificate.

He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Greenvale, Long Island. Shamkin also served in the U.S. Air Force and was a licensed U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Marine Officer.