SAILING EXPEDITIONS

Sailing Yacht Rebels Expeditions (2023–2026)

A real-world offshore transformation into one of the least-traveled and most dangerous maritime regions on Earth.

The Vessel & Crew

Sailing Yacht: REBELS — Vagabond 47 (1989)

Crew (Double-Handed):

Robert D. “Kamikaze” — Co-Owner, Captain (Austrian)

Elena Levon — Co-Owner, Co-Captain (Russian-American)

All passages conducted double-handed with 6 hour shifts.

The Beginning

This journey did not begin with experience. When sailing yacht “Rebels”, a 1989 Vagabond 47 ketch, was purchased in 2023, Elena Levon had zero formal sailing background. No courses and no certifications. She was 39 years old at the time. What followed was an immediate transition into offshore life — learned in real conditions, at sea, under pressure. Not in controlled environments. Not in coastal training zones. But offshore, where decisions carry consequences. Over the next two years, those decisions evolved into a continuous expedition across the Atlantic and down the West African coast — Sailing Africa “wrong way” North to South.

Words from the crew of sailing yacht “Rebels” — LIBERIA — “A hidden paradise with some of the kindest, most welcoming people we have ever met. The staff of little heaven on earth — COCONUT COVE RETREAT, are our angels and our friends for life. Beautiful Liberia is highly recommended — to sailors, overlanders, and air travelers alike.” — Captain Robert and co-captain / Elena Levon.

“This moment belongs as much to the people of Liberia as it does to the vessel that arrived.” - Elena Levon

Liberia — Undocumented Coastline

January 2026. Sailing yacht Rebels anchored off the Liberian coastline following a mechanical failure. There was no marina and no yacht infrastructure, only open shoreline, surf, and a country where private sailing yachts are virtually absent. Based on available cruising records, maritime references, and local accounts, this appears to have been; One of the first — and possibly the first — documented arrival of a private, non-commercial sailing yacht in modern recorded history along this part of the Liberian coast. The vessel remained at anchor for one week.

The Central Gulf of Guinea Crossing

February 2026. Within days of departing Liberia, sailing yacht REBELS undertook a direct offshore passage across the central Gulf of Guinea.

Route: Liberia → São Tomé & Príncipe

Distance: 1,000+ nautical miles

Duration: 11 days

Crew: 2 (double-handed)

Conditions of the Crossing

The passage moved directly through:

• An active piracy zone

(region responsible for the majority of global maritime kidnappings in recent years)

• The equatorial storm belt. Continuous lightning, electrical storms, and fast-forming squalls

• Unstable weather systems. Gusts building toward 40–46 knots

• Unpredictable sea-state transitions. Rapid shifts between calm and violent convection

No Support. No Detours.

This was not a rerouted or minimized exposure passage.

• No escort

• No additional crew

• No avoidance loop offshore

• No staged weather window

The vessel sailed through the central basin of the Gulf — not around it. The crossing was completed under:

• Sail

• Low-RPM motor-sailing (~900 rpm when required)

• Pushing through worst lighting zones under engine.

• Full onboard command by a two-person crew

Against the Norm

Most private yachts avoid the Gulf of Guinea entirely, reroute far offshore or approach São Tomé from the south or via Angola/Gabon. Sailing yacht “Rebels” did none of the above. This was a direct central crossing through one of the world’s most dangerous maritime regions — where piracy, armed robbery, and kidnappings at sea have been widely documented. In January 2026, pirate attacks were still occurring off Ghana and across the whole region, targeting crews for ransom. Rebels crew passed just offshore of Axim, along Ghana's western coast — the exact stretch of water where, four weeks earlier, pirates had boarded a fishing vessel and abducted nine crew.

Record Context

Based on currently available public records, cruising references, and documented sailing routes: This passage represents a rare documented double-handed crossing of the central Gulf of Guinea by a private sailing yacht. It also stands among the first documented female-led crossings of this kind.

Expedition Scale (2023–2026)

• 10,000+ nautical miles sailed

• Atlantic crossings and return passages

•    11 nations visited

• Continuous West African coastal descent from Canaries to Angola (6 months)

• Sailing conducted entirely double-handed

Final Note

There was no production crew, sponsors, onshore guidance, or safety net. Only one sailing yacht, two people and the ocean.

Publications

Yachting World (feature) — forthcoming

Noonsite report — Off the Beaten Path: From Liberia to São Tomé & Príncipe

Cruisers Wiki — Gulf of Guinea & Liberia

There are many “Black Pearls” in the world, but only 1 “REBELS”

She has been caught in 7 meter breaking waves, journeyed “impossible” route against winds and strongest current, had autopilot and engine failures, in the middle of Atlantic Ocean and still is thirsty for more adventures, same as her crew...

Yes, all of us, are not exactly “young” in passport numbers, but we have something that no amount of grey hair and squeaky wood can take away...…