Offshore racer turned father of the Pogo
Pierre Rolland grew up on the Crozon peninsula in Finistère, facing the traditional Auguste Tertu boatyard. After earning a mechanical engineering BTS in 1978, he spent a decade in automotive design offices while designing and building his own offshore racing prototypes. Now based in Dirinon, his PRAN design office is behind the Pogo, Django, Mojito, and Bongo.
A racing career before becoming an architect
Rolland first made a name for himself as a skipper: Mini-Transat 1987, 1989, 1993, and 2009, four Solitaire du Figaro between 1995 and 1998, victory in the Sables-Açores-Sables 2008 aboard his D2 prototype. He always designed the boats he raced on before Structures commissioned him in 1995 to design the first production Pogo, derived from his Mini 6.50 "Amnesty International" which won the 1993 Mini-Transat with Thierry Dubois.
Yard partnerships
PRAN primarily collaborates with four Breton yards: Structures (Pogo production range), Marée Haute (Django, D2), IDB Marine (Mojito, Malango), and Bord à Bord for aluminum hulls. Rolland also teaches mechanical engineering alongside his work as an architect.
