LONDON, December 1, 2009 (AFP) - The five Britons detained in Iran are mainly "tough" and "resilient" young yachtsmen who will handle the stress of being held well, relatives and friends said Tuesday, while still voicing concern.

The group -- Luke Porter, Oliver Young, Oliver Smith, Sam Usher and sports journalist David Bloomer -- were stopped as they sailed the "Kingdom Of Bahrain" to Dubai for one of the Middle East's top races.

Pictures posted on social networking site Facebook late Monday but since removed showed the four yachtsmen preparing the boat for the race, posing in towels and socializing.

Bloomer, who is in his 60s and works for Radio Bahrain, joined them later and was meant to be covering their progress in the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race.

Friends and family members of the group say they believe their experience as sailors means they will cope well with their ordeal -- but others admit they are still worried.

Oliver Young's mother Sue Young told AFP she believed her son -- who had only been in Bahrain for a couple of weeks -- would handle the ordeal "without any bother at all."

"He's fine and he's with a good team of chaps. He will be bearing up well. Olly is very solid and dependable," she said.

"It is ridiculous to claim they were anything more than just sailors. There were literally sailing through there in a yacht, nothing more."

Charles Porter, the father of Luke Porter, described his son as "a very strong character, very resilient. He's a professional sailor, very used to dealing with adversity."

He added that he had spoken to Luke in recent days.

"He sounded not exactly upbeat but he sounded in control of his personal situation," Charles Porter said.

"It was very difficult, I have to say. It was the first time as a parent my children have been in a difficult situation and I haven't had any means to help them".

His wife Beverly added: "He hasn't got an evil bone in his body... as far as I'm concerned, it was just a human error".

Sam Usher, who is engaged and has two children, owns a sailing academy near York, northern England. His fiancee Nicola Drayton said it was "difficult" to hear the news but did not want to comment further.

Oliver Smith, 31, seems to be the most experienced sailor in the group.

After a degree in ocean science and marine navigation at Plymouth University in southwest England, he spent six months skippering a survey yacht and doing delivery work in South America and the Caribbean.

Since then, he has skippered racing yachts.

He was described as "a very solid guy, a good sailor, a tough young guy, pretty skilled with the boat" by Conrad Humphreys, a professional sailor who has competed in races including the prestigious Vendee Globe, speaking to the Southampton Daily Echo.

Bloomer, meanwhile, has dual Irish and British nationality but was travelling on a British passport. He is married and his wife also lives in Bahrain.

An unnamed friend of his told the Daily Telegraph newspaper he was a "fixture of the community".

"He will be fairly calm, a calming influence on the younger members of the crew," the friend said. "He has a very dry Irish sense of humour. I know his wife is obviously very upset."