Five British yachtsmen joyfully decked their vessel with UAE flags as they reached Dubai yesterday after Iran accepted they had strayed accidentally into the country's waters and released them.

Wearing white shirts with "crew" on the back, the men were all smiles as they came ashore, shaking hands and embracing waiting friends.

"We are fine... It is a great relief... Everybody is feeling great to have this all behind us," one of the men, David Bloomer, told Sky News by telephone.

"We were treated very well. We are all extremely happy to be free. They towed us out to international waters, we dropped the sails and here we are," he said.

Another of the yachtsmen, Oliver Smith, told reporters that the crew's detention by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards on November 25 had been "fairly tense to start with".

"All the crew were blindfolded except for me," he said. "I was told to steer the boat to dock. We were all questioned together."

He too said that the yachtsmen had been well-treated throughout by their Iranian captors and even let out in the evening.

He said they had been questioned repeatedly as to why they had strayed into Iranian waters before convincing their interrogators that it had not been intentional.

Charles Porter, father of 21-year-old Luke Porter, said in London that his son was a "laid-back, very solid character".

"His first words to his mum were 'Mum, I'm out. We've had a bit of trouble but I'm okay,' as if it was a bad rugby game he had been through, rather than a pretty hideous experience."

He added: "We've spoken to Luke. He's very, very tired; he's been through a lot. He said that the first couple of days were quite upsetting, but then they got the feeling they were not dealing with anything sinister."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards, whose naval forces patrol Gulf waters, said the men had been interrogated and, "after investigation, it became evident that their illegal entry was a mistake."