Red carpet and all-star nights for British sailing's golden couple

By Alan Fraser for MailOnline Updated: 16:29 EDT, 9 October 2008

Newlyweds Sarah Ayton, one of the three golden blondes in a boat, and fellow Olympian Nick Dempsey, will tonight be honeymooning not on an exotic Caribbean island but in a camper van somewhere in Scotland.

'We'll be all right,' Ayton said. 'The camper van has got a heater.'

That's just as well since Ringo, the couple's new cocker spaniel, would otherwise be filing a complaint to the RSPCA before snuggling into the sock drawer which is home to his mistress's two gold medals.

Golden wedding: Sarah Ayton and Nick Dempsey at their wedding in Weymouth

Ayton is the dog lover who had to persuade her husband three was company, even if just married.

'I had to win two gold medals to win that argument,' she joked.

Dempsey is the windsurfer who suffered the horror of seeing not only a gold but any colour of medal taken from him in 10 agonising minutes in choppy waters off Qingdao.

He was devastated to finish in the cursed fourth position. Before their final races they joked that whoever won gold would get to keep their surname, but his fiancee relented and yesterday became Mrs Dempsey - though she may remain Ayton when she competes.

This will be an action honeymoon for an action couple who were married yesterday in Weymouth, the sailing venue for the 2012 Olympic Games.

They headed for Scotland today with mountain bikes, surfboards and, for a complete change of pace, fishing rods.

'I love my fishing,' Ayton said. Given the whirlwind nature of the past six weeks, it would be no surprise if Dempsey found himself driving in the direction of Balmoral Castle.

'Nick has been chauffeuring me around from celebrity event to celebrity event. I have felt like the Queen.'

The gold medallist has received the invitations while the driver has fulfilled the '…and guest' role without even a hint of jealousy. 'Nick was winning the Olympic regatta 10 minutes from the line in the final race,' Ayton said.

Red carpet treatment: gold medallist in 2004 and 2008, Ayton attends one of many celebrity occasions to which she has been invited

'Of course he was distraught but he supported me and the team wholeheartedly and with great dignity. I was so impressed with how he handled it.'

Like so many of Britain's successful Olympians, jawdropping experience has followed jawdropping experience as normally dedicated athletes have let their hair down on the celebrity circuit.

Ayton found herself dressed in a hot little black number on the catwalk with Naomi Campbell as part of Fashion For Relief 2008.

'She was actually a very nice, ambitious lady,' was how the sailor observed the supermodel. There was a star-studded night out at the Pride of Britain Awards as well as an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show.

'We used to watch that every Friday night never imagining you could one day be on the show as a guest. It has all been incredible,' said Ayton.

'I think I am so lucky to have a sport that I can become absorbed in, where for four years it is full on, full time, every day and at the end enjoy a bit of reward for all the hard work and dedication.'

The cycle will start again in Miami in January, by which time - with the Yngling class gone and the replacement determined by officialdom - Ayton will be planning for London/Weymouth 2012.

a.fraser@dailymail.co.uk