Winter Goes Up in Flames: Alexandria’s Old Dominion Boat Club Welcomes Spring with “Burning of the Socks”
ALEXANDRIA, VA — On the Old Town waterfront along the Potomac River today, winter didn’t just fade away — it was set on fire.
Members of the Old Dominion Boat Club gathered along the river for one of the Chesapeake Bay’s quirkiest and most beloved traditions: the annual Burning of the Socks. And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.
With a small metal firepit ablaze and a small crowd gathered, socks were tossed into the flames — a symbolic goodbye to winter and a warm welcome to spring boating season.
The tradition is widely credited to Annapolis boatyard owner Captain Bob Turner, who started it in the late 1970s after a particularly long and cold winter while running the Annapolis Yacht Yard on the Eastport side of the harbor.
According to regional boating publication SpinSheet Magazine, Turner burned his socks around the spring equinox and declared he wouldn’t wear them again until fall — a lighthearted gesture that struck a chord with fellow boaters.
“It was never meant to be taken seriously… it was just time to go sailing,” Turner later said in recollections of the tradition’s origins.
What began as a spontaneous moment in 1977 quickly spread throughout marinas across the Chesapeake Bay and beyond.
“It’s a celebration of spring and getting back on the water,” organizers at Herrington Harbour Marina have noted in describing the tradition, which is now observed at marinas throughout the region.
Today, the Burning of the Socks is closely tied to the vernal equinox — typically around March 20 — marking the unofficial start of boating season. In Annapolis, where the tradition began, the annual sock burning is usually held right on schedule — this year it happened on March 21. But at the Old Dominion Boat Club in Alexandria, after weeks of up-and-down temperatures, with warm spring days followed by lingering chills, the season has taken its time settling in — making today’s gathering feel especially well-earned.
Before the socks were set ablaze, longtime member John Sterling read aloud the Old Dominion Boat Club’s version of Ode to the Equinox:
AN ADAPTATION OF
ODE TO THE EQUINOX*
By Richard LloydThe Boat Club’s got a new tradition
Once the sun swings to its equinox position;
They build a fire down along the docks,
Doff their shoes and burn their socks.
Yes, they burn their socks near the equinox
While you might think that’s peculiar, 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 near the equinox
In a little of fire burnin’ nice and hot;
Some think incineration is the only solution,
Cause washin’ ’em contributes to the Potomac’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 quaffing some brews.
So if you cruise up the river in early spring
And you safe a smell with a Limburger zing
You’ll know, you’re downwind of the Boat Club’s docks
Where they’re burning their socks for the equinox.*The poem was adapted from Ode to the Equinox by Jefferson Holland, associated with the Annapolis Maritime Museum. The Old Dominion Boat Club version was written in 1977 by Richard Lloyd, a longtime member and former Commodore who died in November 2025.
At its heart, the ritual signals a shift: winter gear is packed away, boat shoes (and bare ankles) return, and docks, decks, and river life come back to life.
At the Old Dominion Boat Club, it’s as much about seeing each other again as it is about burning the socks, with members, families, and a few curious onlookers gathering along the docks to welcome spring.
Afterward, most drifted back inside the club for dinner, drinks, and catching up — with boats back on the water and warmer days on everyone’s mind.
“This is the day we switch gears,” one attendee said. “Socks off, boat shoes on, and back to the river.”
Some came to participate, others just to watch — but everyone seemed to appreciate the moment.
Because in Alexandria, even something as simple as burning a pair of socks can feel like a celebration.
Nearly five decades after it began, the tradition still carries the same message.
Spring has arrived.
And on the waterfront, that means one thing: the socks are off — and boating season is officially on.
