Ode to the Sock Burners By Jefferson Holland, Poet Laureate of Eastport, 1995 Them Tidewater folks got an odd tradition When the sun swings to its equinoxical position, They build a little fire down along the docks, They doff their shoes and they burn their winter socks. Yes, they burn their socks at the Equinox; You might think that’s peculiar, but I think it’s not, See, they’re the same socks they put on last fall, And they never took ‘em off to wash ‘em, not at all… So they burn their socks at the equinox In a little ol’ fire burning nice and hot. Some think incineration is the only solution, ‘Cause washin’ ‘em contributes to Virginia’s pollution. Through the spring and the summer and into the fall, They go around not wearin’ any socks at all, Just stinky bare feet stuck in old deck shoes, Whether out on the water or sippin’ a brew. So if you sail into the harbor on the 20th of March, And you smell a smell like Limburger sautéed with laundry starch, You’ll know you’re downwind of the Nauticus docks Where they’re burning their socks at the equinox.
Spring is in the air and it smells like burning socks. Every March, Annapolis, Maryland, and other ports, welcome spring with a curious ritual: A bonfire stoked by socks. "In the '70s a guy working in a boatyard in Annapolis on a beautiful day when everybody was getting their boats ready for the season, he'd ben wearing the same socks all winter while working on the boat and he took 'em off and burned them to symbolize the end of sock wearing season," explains Ryan Newland, adult programs manager at Sail Nauticus in Norfolk, Virginia during an interview. "It was all on from there." "We do Mariner's Olympics with teams of three," Newland adds. "Last year team Rainbow-Unicorn-Sparkle Pony won and they're returning this year. We'll have like an Olympic torch runner who comes in and lights the socks. We race RC boats."
Back at our marina in Jacksonville the event has also been an endearing and odiferous annual tradition. After spending the winter months shuttling back and forth to change out gear and supplies for our next segments voyage, we welcomed the spring in with several pairs of well used footage apparellettes and apertifs!
