City climax of world yacht race

The Liverpool team narrowly missed out on a podium position

Thousands of spectators gathered in Liverpool for the climax of a 35,000-mile yacht race.

The Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race featured 10 identical craft circumnavigating the globe.

The Western Australia team won the race on Saturday, while the Liverpool team missed a podium finish when they were beaten into fourth place by New York.

Spectators lined the River Mersey to welcome the crews back into the city where the race started last September.

The final leg of the race took the crews of novice sailors from Jersey with a brief stop in Holyhead, north Wales.

Each of the racing yachts are named after - and officially endorsed by - a different city or country including New York, Western Australia, Victoria, Qingdao, Jersey, Liverpool, Singapore, Durban, Glasgow and Cardiff.

The race lasted for 10 months

In January the race was stopped for two months amid safety concerns after the skipper of the Glasgow Clipper reported a loose keel bolt as it sailed between Singapore and Qingdao, China.

An inspection was ordered and slight movement on the keel bolt was found on the other nine vessels, endangering their stability.

Race chiefs ordered the entire fleet to divert to Subic Bay in the Philippines for a full inspection.

The race was restarted but stops in Yokohama, Japan, and Curacao in the Caribbean were removed from the route.

Performances from musicians, aerial displays and a flotilla of local vessels welcomed the boats back into Liverpool.