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THE LORE… of the
“SOCK BURNING”
As the last
snowstorm of the
winter
mercifully
passes us by,
Silver Cloud
Harbor Marina
will gather on
the
banks of the
Forked River.
Like most
get-togethers,
this 1st Annual
Tradition will
involve meeting
your
fellow slip
mates, spirited
drinking and
boat talk, but
for the real
reason;
“Celebrate the
coming of
spring”.
My wife Lisa and
I have
experienced
firsthand the
original
tradition of
“The Sock
Burning” in
Annapolis
MD while
finalizing the
purchase of our
new vessel.
Please, let me
share the
following:
The Lore:
Each year, on
the vernal
equinox, fellow
boaters and
friends gather
and burn their
socks to
celebrate the
coming of
spring.
Technically, the
Equinox is on
the Day of
Spring early in
the wee hours of
the morning.
Untying their shoes, they tossed their old socks on the flames with great
fanfare.
One woman burned
her
bra to loud
cheers. On
occasion a
spontaneous
chant or speech
about the
whisking away of
the winter cold
would be heard.
As nautical
traditions go,
sock burning is
hardly
distinguished,
nor is it
widespread.
But the all
participants
were in the mood
for whimsy.
The long winter
is unpleasant
for many, but in
Forked River, a
town whose
identity is
tightly anchored
to sailing or
boating alike,
it is regarded
as a tragic
error on the
part of Mother
Nature to put us
through the
winter doldrums.
It would mean-
four months of
dry-docked
boats, vacant
marinas and
gusting winds
squandered on
furled sails.
''You can never
start spring too
early,'' or
“Celebrate the
coming of spring
too late”
The gentleman
who started the
sock burning, a
longtime
Annapolis marine
worker explains,
“There were
several bad
winters back in
the mid-70's,
and with the
winter of '77,
when the bay
froze it was
particularly
brutal. So
on the first day
of spring that
year I rounded
up my fellow
boat workers,
bought some beer
and
held the first
sock burning.”
Boating (in
general) socks
are regarded the
same way that
shackles are to
a prisoner.
No one wears
sock in
the summertime,
and a sure way
to herald warmer
weather is to
char the dreaded
things to ash.
''It should
be illegal to
wear socks in
spring and
summer.''
“Hence, the
beginning of a
Silver Cloud
Harbor Marina
tradition that
should live on
in coming
years.”
JOIN US!!!
“ENJOY LIFE”
By Mike Palmer-
36 Hunter- “Lady
L”- Slipped:
Wilbert’s Marina
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