The Vendée Globe is part of PRB's DNA, with a presence in 7 solo non-stop non-assisted round the world races, including 2 victories. In fact, Jacques Laurent, President of the brand, announced that the company would be present at the start of the next Vendée Globe in 2020. But before that, it is another skipper who will be wearing the orange colours of the Vendée company: Philippe Péché, who is setting out on the Golden Globe Race adventure.
"Philippe's profile and personality seduced us. He's a sincere, authentic, committed man. At PRB, we like challenging men and women. And the challenge he is about to take up is incredible. With our boats in the Vendée Globe, we are used to pushing technology to the limit. We're passionate about that. But this time, it's the other way round. We're putting technology to one side and we're taking the dimension of adventure even further. That's what we like about the Golden Globe. What's more, a departure from Les Sables-d'Olonne couldn't take place without a boat bearing the PRB colours! We wanted to put our 60' project on hold for a while to come back a few months before the next Vendée Globe, so supporting Philippe is a great opportunity to write another chapter in PRB's history with the round the world races explains Jean-Jacques Laurent.
A single-handed race around the world non-stop and without assistance
The Golden Globe Race is a single-handed, non-stop, round-the-world race that began on June 14, 1968. This first edition will be dedicated to the British sailor Robin Knox Johnston, who on board his 32-foot monohull Suhaili made history on 22 April 1969. After 312 days at sea, he was the first sailor to complete a non-stop, unassisted race around the world. And to celebrate this 50 e anniversary of this legendary race - the forerunner of the Vendée Globe -, Australian Don McIntyre has decided to relaunch the event.
But unlike the Vendée Globe, sailing the Golden Globe is a "return to basics". No onboard computer, no GPS, no calculator, no satellite communication other than for safety (organiser and doctor), no watermaker, no automatic pilot... The competitors will be sailing on simple boats, devoid of any modern technology. Even the cameras will not be digital, but film cameras!
As for the boats, they must meet various criteria: 36' long, a long keel moulded into the shape of the boat, a rudder attached to the keel... The boats must be standard production, produced in at least 20 copies and, above all, their designs must predate 1977.
A first solo round-the-world trip for Philipe Péché
With a start in Les Sables-d'Olonne and the geographical proximity of the race and the sponsor, but also thanks to some great encounters, PRB decided to embark on the adventure. At 56 years old, Philippe Péché is well known in the pontoon world, even though he has spent a good part of his life on the other side of the world, in Australia. A sailing enthusiast, he has an impressive record of achievements: twice winner of the Jules Verne Trophy alongside Bruno Peyron, he has participated in the America's Cup three times. Among his close friends is Alain Gautier, with whom he has sailed many times. 300,000 miles is about what Philippe has sailed aboard multiple sailing boats.
And now he is setting out on a solo non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the world, a challenge he has never taken up. The 1st e by July 2018, he will be one of the 30 skippers to set off on a 30,000-mile round-the-world course.
Philippe Péché will be setting off on a 36-foot monohull from Rustler. A boat that he has completely refitted over the last few months at the Kervilor yard in Saint-Philibert in the Morbihan region of France and that he will launch in mid-February. " This boat is the most modern of the tolerated boats. It is one of the only ones to have a tiller and also one of the longest at the waterline. It is partly for these reasons that I chose it. It really suits what I was looking for." explains Philippe. He thinks he will cover 600 miles a week and complete his course in less than 275 days.
Accustomed to the crew, Philippe wanted to launch his solo project. "I wanted to go solo after doing a lot of crew. There weren't a lot of possibilities. The Vendée Globe requires too much investment, the Figaro requires at least ten years of practice to be at the top, a transquadra is too short... In short, the Golden Globe has come just about at the right time. It's exactly what I was looking for: an exceptional race. I like to relearn forgotten gestures such as astronomical navigation, to adjust my boat without ever relying on an automatic pilot. It's really not an ordinary race. There's another dimension to all this."
