Cowes Week - Oliver Cheshire takes to the water

by Alex Thomson Racing on 15 Aug 2015 Top British model, Oliver Cheshire, took to the water yesterday during Cowes Week to join British round-the-world solo sailor, Alex Thomson, in the Artemis Challenge. Completing the annual charity regatta in five hours seventeen minutes and twenty-four seconds Oliver, Alex was the first British Skipper over the line and the Hugo Boss team finished in fourth position in the IMOCA class.

The race, which awards £10,000 towards the winner’s charity of choice, is an annual 50 mile race beginning and ending in Cowes, which brings together some of the biggest names in sailing from across Britain and Europe, many of whom are accompanied on-board by famous faces for the event.

Fashion model Oliver Cheshire, who was named as one of GQ’s best dressed men this year, joined skipper Alex Thomson on-board Hugo Boss, the IMOCA 60 boat that Thomson successfully sailed around the world in when he came third in the 2012/13 Vendee Globe.

Whilst missing out on the first place prize, Alex Thomson’s sponsor, Hugo Boss, donated £3,000 to a charity of Oliver’s choice anyway as a thank you for taking part in the race. Oliver nominated Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity to receive the donation, one of the World’s leading children hospitals.

This was Oliver’s first time at Cowes Week and involvement in extreme sailing. On taking part in the experience he said; “I was really excited to be invited to join Alex Thomson on-board Hugo Boss and to become a part of the team for the day.

“I was amazed to learn that this is the boat that Alex sailed around the world solo in. I was ready for dry land again after four hours, so I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to spend the best part of three months alone at sea on a boat like that.

Oliver added; “Whilst I don’t think I’ll be signing myself up for anything as epic as that anytime soon, the Artemis challenge was a fantastic experience and not like anything I’ve ever done before. I’d like to thank Alex and Hugo Boss for inviting me to take part, and for the very generous donation they have made to Great Ormond Street Hospital. The money raised will help this amazing charity continue to provide world class care to their young patients and to pioneer new treatments and cures for childhood illnesses”.

Alex said: “It was fantastic having Oliver join us on-board Hugo Boss for the Artemis Challenge today. The event is always a highlight of Cowes Week and Oliver was a great sport, who wasn’t afraid to get stuck in and do what he could to help speed us around the island.

“The conditions were changeable. All in all, it was a brilliant event and a pleasure to have Oliver join team Hugo Boss for the day.'

The Artemis Challenge, sponsored by Artemis Investment Management, has long attracted a whole host of high profile names, with previous celebrities joining the Hugo Boss and Alex Thomson team including Ewan McGregor, Douglas Booth and Davina McCall. Since its inception, the race has made its name as one of the key spectator events of the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, which remains the world’s largest sailing regatta and one of the UK’s biggest sporting events.