THE Bridgwater family of a man lost at sea when his group’s yacht, Cheeki Rafiki, capsized in the Atlantic has thanked rescue teams for their determination.

A memorial service was held last Wednesday at The Canalside centre in Huntworth for Steve Warren, 52, who was born and brought up in the town.

Mr Warren was among four sailors whose upturned boat was discovered about 1,000 miles east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on May 23.

His sister Kay Coombes said: “About 200 people attended the service, which was very personal.”

Mr Warren’s family also made the trip to Boston where they met the US Coastguard to thank the team personally for their search efforts.

Ms Coombes added: “A group of us went over. It was lovely to greet them and thank them in person.

“They were able to explain to us the search effort in a lot more detail and we really appreciated that they did all they could to help.

“They said it was one of the biggest searches they had to carry out.

“We were thrown into this situation and during the visit, there were tears and laughter.

“We realised you have to make the most of things and we made the most of the trip, which is what Steve would have wanted. He was determined to live life for the moment and grasp every opportunity and he would have loved Boston.”

Steve, who attended Sydenham Comprehensive School, Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, James Male, 23, from Southampton, and Andrew Bridge, 21, from Surrey, got into trouble heading back to the UK from a regatta in Antigua the previous week.

The upturned hull of the Cheeki Rafiki was discovered with the liferaft still on board and no sign of the yachstmen.