Fleet 30 joined with Old Point Comfort Yacht Club in sequential parties celebrating warmer weather with the ceremonial burning of their winter socks on March 21st and 28th at the OPCYC Clubhouse on the Marina at historic Fort Monroe.
Several sailors are members of both clubs and had the idea to link up the traditional sailors’ celebration of spring. More than 21 boats were represented on March 21. The sunset was glowing spectacularly on the horizon just as members gathered around the fire.
Judy Pantelides read the Ode to the Equinox which poetically explained this peculiar historical tradition. For hundreds of years, during the cold winter months, sailors wore their one pair of woolen socks until the weather began to turn warm. By Spring, the socks were so torn and smelly that the sailors burned them.
The Burning of the Socks symbolically unites modern day sailors with the lore of the high seas and provides a good excuse to have a party.
A nod to St. Patrick’s Day added to the Fleet 30 event on the 21st which started with a potluck dinner featuring an Irish potato bar and Irish stew (made with an Irish stout beer, of course). After dinner, a limerick contest.
Irish music played during a game of musical chairs with participants dancing an Irish jig as they circled the chairs. The evening ended with old friends and new friends talking of their plans for sailing ventures up and down the bay and further.
OPCYC’s event on the 28th was a bit chilly for spring which accelerated the outdoor sock burning ceremony. The potluck dinner and camaraderie in the warmth of the clubhouse made up for the un-springlike weather outside.
