Rower wed after Atlantic crossing

John Van Katwyk pops the question on the quay to Paula

A Guernsey woman who rowed the Atlantic has returned home as a married woman.

Paula Van Katwyk's boyfriend John, 50, popped the question on the dockside, minutes after welcoming the Mission Atlantic rower to Antigua.

They tied the knot in a 15-minute ceremony on the balcony of a restaurant in Antigua, last Wednesday.

Mrs Van Katwyk, 38, said: "We had not seen each other for 67 days so it was very emotional. And I was very happy to say yes."

'Very emotional'

Mrs Van Katwyk, along with Sarah Day, Lois Rawlins-Duquemin and Kathy Tracey in Mission Atlantic, were the first women team of four to complete the Atlantic Rowing Race.

The four rowers lost use of their satellite phone

The team's satellite phone broke down about a third of the way into the trip, after which they had no direct contact with their families.

All teams faced treacherous weather during the race and six pulled out after capsizing in huge swells.

Mrs Van Katwyk said: "It was a very difficult time, because there had been several capsizes of other boats and we had no way of telling our families that we were ok.

"It was very emotional when I saw John because we had not been able to speak after the phone went down."

Mr Van Katwyk, who rowed the Atlantic in 1997, said: "We missed each other a lot and I thought we would make it a little bit more permanent.

"It was a moment of weakness, her coming ashore, and five minutes later I popped the question."

The crew was officially welcomed home to Guernsey on Sunday by the Bailiff at Government House.

The team are raising money for the charities Multiple Sclerosis Guernsey and Bulstrode House and plan to sell their boat to increase funds.