London, England (CNN) -- The relatives of five British sailors whose boat apparently drifted into Iranian territorial waters last week voiced relief Wednesday as their sons arrived at a yacht club in Dubai.
David Young, father of sailor Oliver Young, said the families met briefly Wednesday morning with Britain's foreign secretary and his staff, who earlier told relatives that Iran was releasing the men.
"We did say to everybody in there, and to people in Bahrain, and to people in Tehran who have been working on this how much we appreciated their efforts, how well they've handled the situation and how glad we are to see our boys home," Young said.
The parents appeared at a news conference held in front of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.
Young had said he was able to speak to his son briefly Monday on a cell phone belonging to one of the other men. The father said he was reassured that the men were being treated well.
The British government identified the other sailors as Olly Smith, Sam Usher, Luke Porter and Dave Bloomer.
The Times of London said Young and Porter are 21 years old, Usher is 26, Smith is 31, and Bloomer is believed to be in his 60s. Bloomer is from Dublin, Ireland, the paper said, and apparently has dual citizenship.
Iran's navy detained the men November 25 as their racing yacht traveled from Bahrain to Dubai for a competition.
Iranian authorities said they released the men after determining that they had accidentally wandered into the country's waters, the semi-official Fars news agency said.
The sailors had told relatives that their boat became disabled and was hard to steer.
Young said his son told him the group was tense when the Iranians first picked them up, but then everything was "cool." Another sailor said they were temporarily blindfolded.
The men and their yacht were towed into international waters Wednesday, and representatives from the company that owns the boat, Sail Bahrain, met them to bring them ashore in Dubai.
Early Wednesday, after receiving the call that his son, Luke, and his crewmates were going to be freed, Charles Porter spoke informally to reporters near his home.
"It was all fairly nerve-racking last night," the father said. He said the Foreign Office awakened the family at 5:30 a.m. to tell them the news.
Watch the Porters describe getting the call
"We've spoken to Luke," Porter said. "He's very, very tired. He's been through a lot. He said that particularly the first couple of days were upsetting."
"He got the feeling after a couple of days that they realized they weren't dealing with anything sinister," the father added.
Luke Porter's twin sister, Jess, said she was "absolutely over the moon [and] relieved to hear his voice. We're such a close family."
British authorities on Tuesday had asked for a speedy resolution in the case, after an Iranian official said the sailors could be dealt with severely if it was determined they had ill intentions.
Young said it probably helped that the incident was kept low-key, without a lot of media fanfare.
Andrew Pindar, Sail Bahrain chairman, said Tuesday evening that the men had had problems with the boat's propeller and that that might have caused them to drift into Iranian waters. The father of one sailor said the propeller had fallen off.
Assuming that the five men might see Wednesday's news conference, one reporter asked the parents what they would say to their son.
"I would say don't get lost on your way to Dubai," Young said.
Five British sailors traveling in a yacht in the Persian Gulf were detained and released by Iranian authorities after they accidentally crossed into Iranian waters. The sailors were on their way to a race then they suffered propeller problems and drifted into Iranian waters.

Iranian authorities interrogated the sailors and released them after they found no evidence of "bad intentions." They earlier warned that the sailors would face prosecution if they suspected any wrong doing.

"There was certainly no question of any malicious intent on the part of these five young people," stated the Iranian Foreign Ministry to the . The  stated, "after carrying out an investigation and interrogation of the five British sailors, it became clear that their illegal entry was a mistake."

Team Pindar composed of David Bloomer, Luke Porter, Oliver Smith, Oliver Young and Sam Usher, were travelling to the -Muscat Offshore Sailing Race, a 360-mile (580-kilometer) race when they were arrested on November 25. The race took place on November 26. The sailors were met by team representatives and are being escorted in their yacht out of Iranian waters. 

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary for the UK denies that the unconditional release was not a political move calling it a "human story" and that it had "nothing to do with politics. It's got nothing to do with the nuclear enrichment program."

A similar incident took place in July, but on land. Three American hikers, identified as Shaun Gabriel Maxwell, Shane Bower and Sara Short, were arrested on July 31 in the country after they crossed into Iranian territory. Reports say the hikers accidentally crossed into Iran while hiking between  and Ahmad Awa in the Kurdish Region of Iraq.