THE father of a Southampton sailor missing at sea had described his joy that the search to find him has been resumed.

Graham Male, from Romsey, Hampshire, the father of 23-year-old James Male, said: ''We are absolutely over the moon."

''We haven't got the full details yet as we are in the process of travelling to the Foreign Office to receive those details.

''From what we have heard it's really what we have been campaigning for.''

Mr Male said he wished to thank everyone who had supported the online petition and added: ''This is what we wanted, the public have been behind us, the celebrities have been behind us, the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) have been behind us, all the expert opinions, people who have been in this situation before.''

He said that he was optimistic that they would now find out what has happened to the Cheeki Rafiki and added: ''We have to get some kind of resolution now.''

The yacht carrying four sailors capsized in the Atlantic Ocean last Friday and the US Coastguard is now resuming search efforts after calling them off over the weekend.