( CNN ) -- The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday it has suspended its search for four British sailors missing since Friday . The 40-foot ( 12 meters ) Cheeki Rafiki was sailing from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom Thursday when it began taking on water , according to the yacht 's managing agent . `` Unfortunately , we lost contact during the early hours of Friday morning , and we believe the crew abandoned to the life raft , '' Doug Innes said in a statement . Royal Yachting Association identified the missing yachtsmen as skipper Andrew Bridge , 21 ; Steve Warren , 52 ; Paul Goslin , 56 ; and James Male , 23 . The Coast Guard 's Boston-based 1st District coordinated a multinational search of 4,146 square miles for the crew . `` Although the search efforts coordinated by Boston were exceptional , we are devastated that search has been called off so soon after the abandonment to a life raft , '' Innes said . The Coast Guard said in a Sunday news release that a merchant vessel located an overturned hull the day before that matched the description of the Cheeki Rafiki , but there was no sign of the sailors . `` We appreciate the assistance of the U.S. Air Force , Canadian and the three merchant vessels helping us to conduct a thorough search so far from shore , '' said Capt . Anthony Popiel , 1st Coast Guard District chief of response . `` We are extremely disappointed that we were not able to locate the sailors during the course of this extensive search . Our thoughts and prayers are with their families during this difficult time . '' Innes describes the Cheeki Rafiki on his company 's website as `` a performance racer/cruiser and suitable for both the inshore and offshore circuit '' and that she is `` equipped for trans-Atlantic sailing and racing . '' Sailor so 'rich ' he forgot $ 100k yacht . CNN 's Haimy Assefa and Jo Shelley contributed to this report .
Four British sailors are believed to have abandoned ship Friday . The 40-foot Cheeki Rafiki began taking on water Thursday . Coast Guard suspends efforts after searching more than 4000 square miles .