Yacht Western Australia was the overall winner of the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Race, which finished in Liverpool’s Albert Dock on Saturday. Thousands of spectators lined the River Mersey to welcome the yachts home 10 months after they left.

Despite winning the penultimate leg from Jersey to Holyhead, the host city’s own yacht, Liverpool 08, came in fourth overall, knocked off the podium by New York in third place and Durban Clipper in second.

The race, which is skippered by professionals with amateur paying crews, stopped at 12 ports, including New York and Brazil. However it was postponed for two months in January after Glasgow Clipper reported water ingress and movement of the keel. After six other boats discovered keel problems, the entire 10-strong fleet was recalled mid-race to undergo repairs in the Philippines. As a result of the two-month delay, stopovers in Japan and the Caribbean were dropped.