Bright Angel

Bright Angel

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Bright Angel is a 1990 Mason 44 cutter, built in Taiwan at the Ta Shing boat yard for Pacific Asian Enterprises, a Dana Point, CA company that now builds the Nordhaven ocean trawlers. She was designed by Al Mason, and has a very traditional look about her; but, more importantly, she is a great sea boat and a comfortable home.
 
Bob & Linda Hargreaves bought Bright Angel in Seattle in 2003, in anticipation of blue water cruising after retiring; their first boat, a 1979 Ericson 29, was much loved, but not up to ocean sailing. Bob worked as an attorney for the Washington State Attorney General's Office, and was a commissioned officer in the Washington Army National Guard; Linda was a business development manager for L'Oreal's Redken line of salon professional hair care products.

In 2010 Bob & Linda left their home port of Olympia, Washington, and set sail for Southern California and Mexico. After two seasons in Mexico, in 2012 they joined the "Puddle Jump" and sailed from Banderas Bay to the Marquesas and worked their way across the Pacific through French Polynesia and Tonga to New Zealand. For the next four years they sailed back and forth from NZ to the tropics - to Fiji three times, and then to Vanuatu and New Caledonia. In 2018 they concluded their full-time cruising and sailed Bright Angel home to Washington from NZ, with stops in Tahiti and Hawaii. They plan to continue cruising in Puget Sound, the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands, and further north in British Columbia.

Recent Updates

Bright Angel - June 26, 2018
Posted:
After a day of motoring, last night started out with a pleasant sail in light winds, but it only lasted four hours before the winds went so light we had to resort to motoring again. This morning ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 25, 2018
Posted:
For our first night north of the equator, the winds went from zippy to zip, and we had to start the engine last night around 2:30 am. Still motoring this morning, and dodging squalls. Last evening ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 24, 2018
Posted:
At 1336 hrs (1:36 pm) local time today (2336 UTC), at longitude 144 00.585W the good ship Bright Angel left the Southern Hemisphere! She has not been north of the Equator since May 2012. And our crew ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 23, 2018
Posted:
We are making good progress towards the equator; should be there late tomorrow! A little shy on easting, but should cross at around 143.5W, which will be just fine. "All is well on board!" Thanks for ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 22, 2018
Posted:
We are making some easting again! The winds are fresh, and for now the seas are moderate, so we are making good time and keeping the breakfast down! Today we will tick over our first 1000 nm since ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 21, 2018
Posted:
The ENE winds are back, making us give up some of our hard earned easting; and we are beating to weather in lumpy seas - who wrote this script, anyway? We had a couple of strange AIS encounters last ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 20, 2018
Posted:
The ESE winds are still with us, and we are making decent progress again today, as we did last night! On our present course, our crew Tom only has 525 nm left as a "Pollywog!" Today, Linda was ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 19, 2018
Posted:
Hurrah - winds from a respectably favorable direction, at last! Just not very much wind - yet? And the sun is out, and the seas are calm - it's one of those "reward" days! Linda says if it stays like ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 18, 2018
Posted:
Still waiting - for E or SE winds! The winds are now NNE, so easting is all but impossible without motoring. We did have to motor some yesterday in very light winds, and we did try sailing east on a ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 16, 2018
Posted:
Nice night last night, and nice day today! A few brief squalls this morning, but nothing to write home about - so, I won't. Crew is catching up on rest, which is a good thing! Our only complaint ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 15, 2018
Posted:
After a day of gloomy skies and moderate winds (22-24 kts), it turned into a terrible, horrible, very bad, no good night! As we entered the channel between Mataiva and Tikehau Islands last night, we ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 14, 2018
Posted:
Our first night at sea was, as usual, a matter of readjustment, but went very well. We were cleared out by noon, at the fuel dock at 1300 (after their lunch time closure!), away from the fuel dock at ... Read More
Bright Angel - June 12, 2018
Posted:
After a month and a day at the the dock in Tahiti, with the extensive repair list completed, tomorrow morning after our agent clears us out and a trip to the fuel dock, we will be on our way to ... Read More
Bright Angel - May 13, 2018
Posted:
Well, that was certainly one for the books! A total of 23 days at sea, covering 2397 nautical miles, on basically a rhumb line from New Zealand to Tahiti, hand steering the last 450 nm, and motoring ... Read More
Bright Angel - May 10, 2018
Posted:
We started motoring north in light winds last night just east of Rurutu Island, so as to avoid an encounter with the Lotus Seamount just east of the island (has some fairly shallow rocks), and kept ... Read More
Bright Angel - May 9, 2018
Posted:
"Land Ho!" Only problem is, it's Rurutu Island in the Australs - not where we are going. We had some great sailing yesterday, even if it was with hand steering! But last night was miserable - high ... Read More
Bright Angel - May 7, 2018
Posted:
Well this weather certainly is a soup sandwich! High winds, rough seas, can't sail the direction we need to go in what seems like perpetual rain and squalls. If we ever get to Tahiti, sure hope the ... Read More
Bright Angel - May 6, 2018
Posted:

via Another Adventure as a bit late to hear them well on 8Megs. GHradio discussed the weather ahead. A front coming but not severe. Just a problem with on the nose winds. Not strong.

Bright Angel - May 6, 2018
Posted:
Gave up fighting the squirrelly, light winds yesterday afternoon around 1430 and turned on the engine. Around 2100 last night, winds came up enough to motor sail effectively; and then, at 0900 this ... Read More
Bright Angel - May 4, 2018
Posted:
Is this the same ocean we were sailing yesterday? This morning dawned bright and calm, after a day of wind, waves and rain. Yesterday it rained so hard it flattened the seas, and you could not see ... Read More

Weather Reports