Pembrokeshire adventurer Neil Ward had an ‘oar-some’ reason to be a day late for his wedding — he’d rowed the Atlantic to get there.

Neil, aged 38, had promised fiancee Louise Robertston that they would marry in Barbados, and decided to reach his wedding venue aboard the Britannia III as part of the 12-man crew taking part in the Atlantic Rowing Race.

The climber and sailor — who went to Neyland Junior School and Milford Haven Grammar School — set out from the Canary Islands on January 4th to arrive at the Caribbean island 39 days and over 2,000 miles later. “Seeing Louise at the port was the only incentive I needed to keep rowing,” said Neil, who now lives in the heart of the Alps, where his 29-year-old wife — originally from Hampshire — works as a ski instructor.

Neil has fond memories of his childhood in Pembrokeshire.

“My first adventure was looking for crabs at Sandy Haven and discovering the amazing estuary, Swallows and Amazons style, with dighies and canoes,” he told the Western Telegraph.

After surfing, climbing and sailing around Pembrokeshire, including a solo sail to Ireland at the aged of 16, he left the county for university in Cornwall. But marriage is not going to stop him in his tracks as he plans another challenge.

“No-one has ever rowed the Atlantic and climbed Everest in the same year,.” he said.