- American authorities caved to pressure to continue searching for the crew on Tuesday
- Comes after yachts from around the world vowed to search at the boat's last known location
- Prime Minister David Cameron was quick to thank the U.S. on Twitter
- The private search was described as channelling the 'Spirit of Dunkirk'
- U.S. Coastguard called off their hunt for the men on Sunday
- Nearly 200,000 people have signed an online petition urging them to restart
- The crew of the Cheeki Rafiki were returning from Antigua Sailing Week
- They ran into difficulties on Thursday but lost contact with land on Friday
- Missing are Andrew Bridge, Paul Goslin, Steve Warren and James Male
The news comes after more than 40 private boats vowed to start their own search for Andrew Bridge, Paul Goslin, Steve Warren and James Male who have been missing in the Atlantic since Friday.
The U.S. Coastguard told the family of Somerset sailor Steve Warren early Tuesday afternoon that they will be liaising with Canadian and British authorities and would relaunch the search from the air imminently.
Petty officer Jennifer Robertson said: 'The U.S. Coast Guard has resumed search efforts for the missing crew of the Cheeki Rafiki. More information will released as updates on the search effort are available.'
All smiles: The last picture of the crew of the
Cheeki Rafiki shows the sailors enjoying an awards ceremony at the end
of the Antigua Sailing Week 2014. Steve Warren is shown left, Paul
Goslin, is second left, Andrew Bridge is seen second to right, and James
Male is pictured right
'When we started this campaign, we didn't know who would listen, just that our boys were lost at sea and we refused to let go of hope.'
She said that everyone is 'so grateful' to the Coastguard for listening to all the people who had backed the petition. By 3.30pm today more than 197,200 had signed it.
'Thank you again, so much, for helping my amazing friend Andy and his crewmates by giving them a fighting chance,' she said. 'The impact you have made by signing this petition is unbelievable.'
Prime Minister David Cameron was quick to applaud the move.
He tweeted Tuesday afternoon: 'My thanks to the US Coastguard, which has resumed its search for our missing yachtsmen. @USCG'
Andrew Bridge's grandmother Valerie said the family was 'delighted' by the news.
'It is at least something and that is all we were asking for, all we wanted was another search,' she said.
'It might not come to anything but people want them to do it and they are trying. It seemed too quick, just two days and we were saying "if only they could do it (search) for a bit longer." You never know what could happen.'
Dan Carpenter, son-in-law of Steve Warren, said: 'We are holding out hope. We are aware that it is still a long shot but while there is some hope, we are concentrating on that.'
Thanks: David Cameron was quick to applaud the Coastguard on Twitter
Andrew Bridge, left, who was skippering the Cheeki Rafiki. Also missing is 56-year-old Paul Goslin, right
Fellow crew members Steve Warren, 52, left, and 23-year-old James Male, right, were also on board the ship
Families met ministers at the Foreign Office earlier Tuesday and are due to go to the U.S. Embassy, one of the men's nieces said.
Earlier Tuesday, the father of one of the missing yachtsmen made a direct plea to Mr Cameron to keep looking for the missing men.
'These are guys that are an inspiration to Britain, they are your Britain. We owe it to them. We look after our own people, we need to get out there and search for them,' James Male's dad Graham Male said on ITV News.
Meanwhile, private yachts from around the world are set to descend on the last known location of the 40ft Cheeki Rafiki, with crew members on board the vessels keeping in constant contact with the missing men's families.
The online petition was set up on Monday, a day after the U.S. Coastguard called off their search for the crew saying the men were unlikely to have survived in the severe weather for more than 20 hours.
The petition called on the American authorities to restart the search for the four yachtsmen.
Tony Bullimore, who was rescued in the Southern Ocean in 1997 following a grueling five days clinging to the hull of his capsized boat, insisted the U.S. couldn't give up because there was not yet any proof the sailors were dead.
Help: James Male's dad Graham Male, pictured, made a direct plea to Mr Cameron to keep looking for the missing men
'We're going through hell': Kay Coombes, sister
of missing yachtsman Stephen Warren, has been told 40 private boats are
to search for the boat, which lost contact with land on Friday
Hull sighting: On Saturday, a cargo vessel, the
MV Maersk Kure, spotted and photographed an overturned hull, pictured,
which matched the description of the Cheeki Rafiki but reported no signs
of people on board
'They can't go on searching forever, but there are enough good reasons to continue.
'There is no proof that they are not still alive, in the life boat or hanging on to the hull. One has got to be on their side, and I would rally to the Coastguard to get back out there.'
The separate private search to find the men has been described as channeling the 'Spirit of Dunkirk' - an evacuation during World War Two which saw stranded allied troops rescued by a flotilla of pleasure boats and civilian craft.
Kay Coombes, the sister of Steve Warren said she has received an email telling her of the planned mission.
The 46-year-old said: 'I got an email that said there were eight individual boats in one group, and a further 32 were set to come in a rally from Antigua.
'They are all making the crossing, some are catamarans I think. Other than that I really don't know what is happening, but we can only hold out hope they will find something.
'They said they are going to keep their eyes peeled for anything that may help us, so we are clinging on to that at the moment.
'They are very aware of what is going on so I know they will do their best.'
Treacherous: Search teams battled 'treacherous'
conditions - including winds in excess of 50 knots and 15 to 20 ft waves
- to search for the missing yacht, pictured
The yachtsmen were travelling back to Southampton from a regatta in Antigua when contact was lost with them in the early hours of Friday morning.
On board were captain Bridge, 22, along with Male, 23, Warren, 52, and Goslin, 56.
It is thought they were around 620 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, when the yacht began taking on water.
They told their base they were diverting to the Azores, but contact was lost in the early hours of Friday morning.
On Saturday, a cargo vessel which was helping with the search spotted and photographed an overturned hull which matched the description of the Cheeki Rafiki but reported no signs of people on board or a life raft.
On Sunday the U.S. Coastguard gave up their hunt for the men, saying it did not have the capability for a large-scale search.
The online petition urging them to resume the rescue was backed by four-time Olympic gold medal sailor Ben Ainslie as well Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, whose constituency covers the area where the Bridge family live.
Sir Ben, the world's most successful Olympic sailor, told BBC News: 'If there is a chance they are still out there, then we need to keep looking for them, so it is fantastic news that the US Coast Guard have agreed to get back out there and they should be commended for that.'
He felt it was a moment when families and loved ones of the missing men might be able to think that 'everything that possibly can be done is being done.'
Sir Ben also noted that it had come after a 'huge response' which had come nationally, internationally and from the local sailing community in the UK to continue searching for the sailors.
The Cheeki Rafiki, pictured during Antigua Sailing Week, before it ran into difficulties returning to the UK
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to sail non-stop round the world, said: 'The US Coast Guard and US Navy are the best at this, they have the most experience and they have the assets.
'I feel that we humans are better at surviving than is often reflected in statistics, so I think there should be just one more sweep downwind of where the hull was discovered, so that people can feel that everything that could be done has been done. Our thoughts are with the families of the crew.'
Entrepreneur and adventurer Sir Richard Branson had publicly called on vessels near the area to keep a lookout.
'One of the sailors is my dad and we cannot give up! He is my world and we need to start this search again!!!,' added Claire Goslin, Paul Goslin's daughter.
Captain Anthony Popiel from the U.S. Coastguard said earlier that it had been a difficult decision to suspend the search but the estimated survival time after a distress alert in extreme conditions at sea was about 20 hours and the crew had searched for 53 hours.
The U.S. Coastguard's original decision was also backed by British counterparts, who believe no more could have been done.
Keith Oliver, head of maritime operations at HM Coastguard said the American's had done 'all they could' to locate the stricken crew.
He added that he had been in regular contact with the US Coast Guard since the early hours of Friday morning.
'Based on the information provided to us, we believe that the US Coast Guard has done all they can to locate the stricken yacht and her crew', he explained.
'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of these four sailors at this extremely difficult time.'
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