December's been a mixed bag so far. Either too much or not enough wind, wind from the wrong direction ... When this wasn't the case, you could bet your cotton socks that it was blisteringly cold. Who goes sailing in weather like this? Mad dogs and...

Our last sail - over a week ago - seems like it will have been our last family sail of the year. Weather was borderline: too much wind, too cold and short fuses all round. Father - son clash of characters duly followed. Maybe I'm not the easiest person to live with. Still, all was resolved by the time we tied up. Sailing: balm for the soul.

Brigitte and I are working over X-Mas and the year end is less than a week away. Chance would be a good thing, but another family sail in 2012 doesn't seem to be on the cards.

Winter refit is proceeding apace. Only one item left on the 'to-do' lost. We have pressurised water once again - for the first time in 3 years and the heater's been fixed. We're as good as ready for the next year.

Bit disappointed with 2011. Far less sailing than I had hoped for. Two main contributing factors: the weather and the lack of crew. Describe the 2011 weather in one word: crap. Losing the eldest to Uni severely reduced available crew.

Lots of activity on other fronts too - as yet, with little tangible result. But this is hopefully about to change in the very near future. Fingers crossed.

Even though we managed to sail whenever the weather allowed, my frustration is that we hardly ever went anywhere. A quick cross-Channel dash in April (taking in Ostend, Nieuwpoort and Ramsgate) with my eldest and an ever quicker one-day stay in Ostend with Brigitte was as good as it got this year. This left us with daysails - and they are losing their attraction very, very fast.

So, this has pretty much summed up our ambitions for 2012 very nicely: I want to actually 'go' somewhere. And, I want to shift our sailing boundaries - overnight cruises should become part of our routine. We should be able to manage 2 or days/nights in a row without a problem.

If everything works out, I will have 4 (maybe 5) weeks off work this Summer. If the weather allows, I would either try to get to Norway (as far North as we can get) or dash to Brittany in one go and then explore/daysail that area, before heading back. A big family cruise seems out of the question, but with crew mustering on/off at various points, it should be achievable. If not, we might just revisit our old stomping ground of the Channel Islands and Normandy. Plans are vague, and are likely to remain that way till the time actually comes.

2011 will go down in history as the year of crap weather and painfully slow progress. But progress all the same.

Better sign off now - work to do - no peace for the wicked.