PRB (vessel)
The article below is for PRB, the fourth. Now named Initiatives Cœur. The current PRB, the fifth was launched in 2010.
PRB is a 60’ monohull designed by Bruce Farr and built by CDK technologies in La Forêt-Fouesnant, France. It was put to water in September 2006. In 2007 the monohull has won three of the five events in which it has participated. Winner of the Grand Prix Petit navire offshore race, of the Calais Round Britain Race, and more recently of the Rolex Fastnet Race, it distmated in the Barcelona World Race. Vincent Riou, winner of the last Vendée Globe will compete the next around the world race onboard PRB. While sailing in the 2020-2021 Vendee Globe with French skipper Kevin Escoffier, who reported issues with a valve at the starboard foil on the 22 November, it suddenly sank on the 30 November, 2000 kilometers south-west of Cape of Good Hope. At the time the skipper was in third and was found in his life raft by skipper Jean Le Cam, who was only thirty miles behind him, when he triggered his emergency beacon. Jean Le Cam was saved in the 2006-2007 Vendee Globe by none other than PRB skipper Vincent Riou at Cape Horn.[1] After having found him Jean Le Cam lost visual contact with Kevin Escoffier as it turned night. Eventually 3 boats were searching for Kevin[2]- and he was rescued the following morning.[3]
- Architect : Farr Yacht Design
- Builder : CDK technologies (La Foret Fouesnant)
- Put to water : September 2006
- Length : 18,28m (60’)
- Width : 5,85 m
- Weight : 8,5 tonnes
- Structure : Carbone Nomex
- Upwind Sails : 300 m²
- Downwind sails : 500 m²
- Sail N° : 85
The sponsor
PRB
- Year of creation: 1975
- Head office: La Mothe-Achard, Vendée, France
- Chairman of the board: Jean-Jacques Laurent
Business activity :
- coating and flooring products for the building industry - products for façades and decoration (paint, TPC...), for tiling and soft flooring, for masonry; ranges of tiles and reconstituted stone.
- 110M turnover in 2006
- 5% in export
- 3rd biggest producer of façade rendering in France
- 16% of the French single-layer façade market (hydraulic binder)
- 500 000 tonnes of rendering per year
- No1 independent rendering manufacturer
- Staff at production site: 200 employees
- Number of sales representatives: 83
- 13 warehouses nationally
- 7 production units on the same site