Sir Richard Branson came to the rescue of Olympic sailor Sir Ben Ainslie and his new wife Georgie Thompson after the pair ran into trouble sailing near Necker Island on their honeymoon. The Virgin boss shared his surprise at finding the four-times gold medallist had run into difficulties when a furling system, which controls the sail being rolled out, broke. He wrote on his blog: "It was great to see Ben Ainslie sailing past Necker Island as he enjoyed his honeymoon with his delightful new wife Georgie Thompson.
© Photo: Twitter"Seeing as Ben is one of the greatest sailors of all time, what we didn't except to see was his boat getting into trouble!"Members of the island's watersports team came to the couple's rescue, cutting the sail and avoiding the vessel being wrecked on a nearby reef.
Sir Richard added: "Unsurprisingly, Ben kept an amazingly cool head whilst directing operations - he just needed more hands to sort out the mess."
Sir Richard even invited the couple to stay on his famous island for a few days. Shortly after the rescue, the newlyweds, who married on 20 December at Hampton Court Palace surrounded by family and friends, were brought to the tycoon's famous Necker Island where they posed for a playful snap.
Ben and Georgie tied the knot on 20 December at Hampton Court Palace
Taken on the shores of his island, the photo shows Richard cracking open a bottle of champagne while Georgie is held in the arms of her husband and members of the island's watersports team. Alongside another snap of the group looking relaxed and sun-kissed, Richard wrote: "Hosted delightful @ainslieben & @OfficiallyGT @ Necker after we helped stop boat from wrecking." Ben and TV sports presenter Georgie announced their engagement last October. "Picture says it all," wrote Ben on Twitter next to a photo of the beaming duo and their dog at the time. "So happy to be engaged to the loveliest woman in the World. Biggles is pretty excited too!"
