Underway after a week on Long Island .. 01/13

We decided to head out Tuesday morning the 13th.  We got a bit of sailing in for 8 miles but it was only moving us 4 knots...slower at times.  This was because we had to head west to go through some charted passages through shallow areas.. down to just inches more than our draft.   We dropped sails to motor through these passages.  Once through these passages, which were the East and West Commer passages, we turned sharply and again were heading straight into the wind.  It was not bad but dark clouds were building and we took the misen down just before we hit the first squall.  Gusts were to 30 knots then 20 or 25 knots with some choppy seas that occasionally slowed the boat down to 4 knots.  We were originally planning to go overnight to Crooked Island and anchor and rest but we decided to anchor at the protected side of the south tip of Long Island.  It was dark as we motored toward our resting spot and we went through a second squall.  Then as we continued there was a lot of lightning just behind us from where we'd come.  We never heard thunder but perhaps due to engine and water crashing against the hull.  On some of the waves the very front of the bow would just reach the water.  Asperida is a 52' boat.  It was more due to the steepness than the waves being a huge size.  Going just off the chart plotter and depth sounder we dropped anchored and ate dinner prepared hours earlier.  It was a very bumpy night with a lot of chain noise as we swung back and forth.  Plus all the other items hanging on the boat here and there.   Once we had had breakfast we decided to stay and leave in the morning as a storm was due by 11 AM according to the newly downloaded Grib files.  We weighed anchor and moved to a bit less rolling spot.  So far no storm but there have been dark clouds to our north...but partly cloudy blue skies above.  It's still blowing from the south..even a hair west of south but we are supposed to have some days of northeast winds light at first but then a little better...motor-sailing I suspect?  The plan is to leave tomorrow and go non stop to Great Inagua Island and if conditions allow anchor a night out in front of Mathew Town to clear out of the Bahamas and so Candace can communicate with the group she's meeting in Les Cayes, Haiti.  

Walter just discovered one dinghy oar is missing.  We suspect it came loose last night during the storms of sometime during the bumpy night.  At least Walter has a smaller dinghy packed away onboard with a set of oars.  

Below was supposed to be a few photos of our first real sailing.  Unfortunately I had some oddity happen when putting photos from camera too iPad and they are not really on my iPad? Blank spaces where they should be but viewable when I click the blank space but not editable or movable to different folder?  I'm hoping I can recover them somehow but I think they're lost.  I have only one photo of Genoa ..and rainbow.  It was only the second time we put up the main and the first time we actually got some sailing in.  Candace was commenting on how she thought sailing would be faster.. The answer was sometimes it is faster but it's always slow.   She said she can swim that fast.. It was mentioned, not if you want to bring your home with you.