December has brought a proper touch of seasonal chill, and so it should.

We are in the deep end of winter but, although we hardly notice, the nights start drawing, or is it creeping, out again before Christmas. While we might be in a deep freeze by then, some of us begin to throw off the overcoat of seasonally adjusted gloom and begin to look forward to another thrilling boating season ahead.

It might seem over-optimistic but those of us who are depressed by the dark and dank have to have something to put a smile on our faces.

Boating folk are naturally obsessed with the weather and yet we can be as daft as the rest of the population when we express surprise or even comment on the unexpected.

Remember the spring when there was talk of a barbecue summer? That turned out to be a distinctly damp squib. In the summer, the talk was full of dire predictions of an early winter when we would all be locked in by ice and snow.

The signs were there of course. Trees and fruit bushes were overladen with produce. Migratory birds were arriving or leaving early. I can’t remember the colour of the leaves on the mistletoe or all the other harbingers of good or bad weather. It did seem boats were being lifted early and moorings in isolated creeks were being abandoned too soon. Perhaps boaters, and especially sailors, have in-built antenae just like birds and other animals.

But, if they relied on their haul-it-out and batten-down-the-hatches instincts, they will have missed out on a glorious autumn of long hours of sunshine, little rain and relatively balmy temperatures, in the southern half of Britain at least.

The downside for some might have been some pretty interesting breezes. Really technical racing sailors might like the challenge of pitting their skills against the most gentle of breezes but the autumn gave south coast sailors a chance to test themselves against stronger stuff, some of it gale force and more.

That was no bad thing. We all need to be reminded of the ferocity of wind and waves and we need experience to be able to deal with them.

The last weekend of November was a perfect time for practice in the safety of the Solent. There were some strong tides, big breezes and powerful gusts. Days were short and temperatures plummeted as darkness arrived but short days make the evenings longer. Cowes enjoyed some lively out of season gossip.

The moral is: don’t put the boat to bed too early – if at all. Invest in some new thermals at the boat show and as Bruce Forsythe might say: “Keep sailing!”

Welcome aboard

Freelance journalist and sailing coach Georgie Corlett is joining All at Sea as editor ready for a huge year for boating when our sailors plan to dominate the Olympics on home waters.

Georgie has written about dinghy sailing and worked at the Beijing Olympics sailing centre. Read her guide to the London Boat Show this month and her expert look at some last minute Christmas gifts for boaters and welcome her aboard from the January edition.

I shall remain around with Sea Talk in 2012 and until then have a merry boating Christmas.