The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IT was back on August 24 that Mark Holowesko and his crew of Peter Vlasov and Christopher Burger became the second Bahamian team in two years to win the International 5.5 Metre Class Association’s World Championships in the Solent near Cowes, Isles of Wight, England.

But yesterday, the Bahamas Olympic Committee took the time out to recognise the crew on board New Moon for their accomplishments. Joined by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and the Bahamas Sailing Association, Holowesko and Vlasov were presented with plaques at the Island House.

BOC president Rommel Knowles, accompanied by his secretary general Derron Donaldson and vice presidents Cora Hepburn, Dorian Roach and Robert Butler, said the achievement of Holowesko and crew should serve as the impetus for the debate on whether or not sailing should be considered the national sport of the Bahamas.

“I’m pleased to be here, obviously our thrust is to get athletes and coaches prepared and developed to compete at the Olympic Games level and we understand in the Olympic movement that there are games that lead up to the Olympics,” Knowles said.

“The World Championships in any sport is quite significant to the international federation and so it’s obviously significant to us as well as it serves as another opportunity, a high level of competition, that is just below the Olympic Games.

“So I want to congratulate both of you for representing the Bahamas and putting sailing back on the map again.”

Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture’s permanent secretary, Rhonda Jackson, who was accompanied by the Director of Sports Timothy Munnings, said she was proud to be among the company of men, who sail around the world representing the Bahamas.

“It is very timely for us because it’s Sports Month at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture and so often the other sports get to be in the forefront,” she pointed out. “But we are more than happy to be here today because we get to participate in this important event where we talk about sailing and we are excited to see what is to come in two years time.”

Lori Lowe, the president of the Bahamas Sailing Association, said she was honoured to recognise Holowesko and Vlasov for their accomplishments.

“I put an idea to them to train a Bahamian so that next time we can have a three-man Bahamian crew in the 5.5 winning the World Championships,” stated Lowe, who was accompanied by her husband Jimmy Lowe, an accomplished sailor himself.

New Moon, skippered by Holowesko, rebounded from a second place finish a year ago to the Bahamian team led by Gavin McKinney by winning this year’s title on at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, one of the most prestigious yacht clubs in the world.

They did by capturing four of the nine races to complete the five days of competition with a total of 18 points, posting a four first place, one second, one third, one fourth and one fifth, the latter of which were able to discard from their record.

Displaying the floating trophy that they brought back to the Bahamas after McKinney hoisted it last year, Holowesko said his crew of Vlasov and Burger, who was not in attendance, spent about eight weeks in Europe representing the Bahamas in sailing competition.

“We were very fortunate that a little than half of that time we sailed with Gavin McKinney, another Bahamian sailor, who is a prior world champion,” he said.

“We were very proud to be able to fly the Bahamian flag in Italy, Switzerland, England and Germany. We participated in six major regattas and thankfully, we were able to place in the top two in every regatta, including the World Championship in Cowes. “Cowes is a very complicated place to sail. The variation of tides is about 11 feet on a good day, so you could imagine the tide here in the Bahamas about 3-4 feet. So the amount of tide and the current flow was incredible. So to manage that and to get ready for that was pretty important.”

Holowesko said en route to winning the world title, they spent a couple of days preparing and they were appreciate of the support of a lot of sailors and persons on the UK Olympic Committee in helping them to understand the weather conditions there.

He also expressed his gratitude to Vlasov, who helped him to transition from the Star Class where he represented the Bahamas at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988. After taking about 15 years off from sailing, Vlasov encouraged him to return about 5-6 years ago and they have been sailing competitively for the past three years. The goal is to now prepare for next year’s World Championships where they hope to defend their title in Nylandska Jaktklubbenn, Helsinki, Finland.

But just before that, Holowesko said they are proud to have been invited to compete in the 100th anniversary of the Scandinavian Gold Cup, a $3 million event that will take place in Finland in the summer just before the World Championships.

While Holowesko steered the 10 metre or 33 feet long boat that competes in the 5.5 class in competition, Vlasov manages the bow and tells him where to go. Burger is their middle man, who is the strategist. Holowesko said it was because of both men New Moon is the world champion.

“We are three men on the boat and what makes us so successful on New moon is the fact that even though each and every one of us have a specific job, sometimes we do intermingle because either I am late or something, so we swipe duties and it works,” he said. “We’ve gotten to the point where all three of us can do everybody else’s job.

“It makes us just this little better and more competitive than others.”

Case in point, Holowesko said in the World Championships, Vlasov decided to fall off the boat and his job was to help him get back on the boat. Vlasov said Holowesko had to actually stop the boat because Burger was tied in the middle of the boat. Vlasov thanked Holowesko for his assistance because he recalled that the water was not as clear and crystal as it is in the Bahamas.”

Vlasov acknowledged the day of November 21 to the sail number of 21 on New Moon. He said they are in the process of building another boat to sail, but first they want to be able to go to Finland and duplicate their feat from Cowes on New Moon.

Also in attendance at the event was American Gwen Jorgensen, who won the gold medal in triathlon at the 2016 Olympic Games. Jorgensen, who is hoping to venture into marathon running for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, is sponsored by Holowesko. While here, she will be talking to the Bahamas triathlon athletes and a number of schools.

“I’m really excited to be here in the Bahamas,” said Jorgensen, a 32-year-old resident of Portland, Oregon. “I love it. It’s always beautiful, the weather is amazing and the community is really nice, which is something that really surprised me the most about the Bahamas when I first came here, just how welcoming everybody is.”