Pair set to sail 'slave triangle'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/devon/7840529.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Two performers from Devon are to retrace the route of the transatlantic slave trade "triangle" in a 38ft (11.5m) 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 bring about reconciliation and an awareness of the plight of today's economic migrants.

The men hope to set sail in the summer in their renovated yacht "Same Boat".

Slave legacy

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.

Same Boat is a renovated 38ft (11.5m) trimaran

"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.

The two men are currently performing in a touring production of Black Men Can't Swim, a play about a white yachtsman who collides with an African migrant travelling in a rickety home-made vessel.