BOC honors world champion sailors

BOC honors world champion sailors

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Bahamas Olympic Committee (BOC) on Wednesday honored Mark Holowesko and Peter Vlasov for their accomplishments over the summer with a cocktail reception at the Island House.

Holowesko and Vlasov are two thirds of the team that won the 5.5-meter world championships in England in August. Holowesko captained the sloop while Vlasov and Christoph Burger, from Switzerland, were the crew members. In preparation for the race, the team competed for two months in Europe, sailing in eight regattas. The crew earned top two finishes in each event.

“Cowes is a very complicated place to sail. The variation in tides was about 11 feet and trying to manage that was pretty important for us,” Holowesko said. “Representing The Bahamas is always a great experience, especially because we don’t have the same resources as some of the larger countries competing. So, for us to be able to accomplish this means a lot.

“I have to thank Peter because he manages the bow of the boat, and Christoph is a fantastic middle man. They are the ones who are really behind this, and I couldn’t have done it without them. All I do is steer.”

Vlasov added: Even though each one of us have specific jobs, sometimes we inter mingle and swap duties. We’ve gotten to a point where all three of us can do everyone else’s job and that works in our favor.

“We’re looking forward to representing The Bahamas in Finland next year at the world champs and the Scandinavian Gold Cup. To be invited for the 100th Gold Cup experience is a significant accomplishment and we hope to represent The Bahamas well.”

At the 5.5 Meter World Championships in August, The Bahamian sloop won four of the nine races contested, ending the competition with 18 total points.

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.