Hull yacht secures silver finish

Hull and Humber were beaten by rivals New York

The Hull and Humber Clipper has clinched second place overall in the round-the-world yacht race.

After 10 months at sea, the boat crossed the finish line off the Mersey in the early hours. New York claimed the overall winning position.

Hopes of an overall victory for the crew faded on Friday as the New York team stretched a narrow lead over the rest of the fleet.

One of the organisers Anna Wardley said: "It was such a close race."

She added: "Everyone was desperate to cross that finish line."

The 35,000 mile race left Liverpool in September with 10 yachts crewed by non-professional sailors and led by a professional skipper.

Hull 2009 host

The race was divided into seven legs with a total of 14 individual races, including stops at Durban, Singapore and New York

Points are accumulated according to each race position, and the yacht with the highest total at the finish wins the race trophy - the Clipper Cup.

The Hull and Humber yacht came third in the final leg of the race from Cork to Liverpool but secured a second place podium finish overall.

The yacht, which has been sponsored by Yorkshire Forward, will be welcomed back by chairman Terry Hodgkinson at an event in Liverpool later.

Hull has been chosen as the host city for the 2009 race.