Two sailors from Devon are to retrace the route of the transatlantic slave trade ‘triangle’ in a 38ft sailing boat. Ayo Scott and Martin Hubbard, from Ashburton, will sail their trimaran from the UK to Africa and then on to the Caribbean.

The aim of the voyage is to raise awareness of the plight of today’s economic migrants and to bring about reconciliation. The men hope to set sail this summer in their renovated yachtSame Boat.

Mr Scott, who is originally from Sierra Leone, said: ‘The thing for me is the legacy of the slave trade. To actually celebrate the abolition of the trade in 2007 was the beginning of a redemption of the legacy, but it’s still going on. I want to use that personally to see what I can do myself.’

Mr Hubbard said: ‘We’re going to do the voyage in stages. The first stage, from the UK to Freetown in Sierra Leone, will be focusing on economic migration. We’ll then go from Africa to the Caribbean, which will be focusing on links between the Caribbean, which have been weak as a legacy of the slave trade.’ The pair will then sail back to the UK to complete the triangle.