How to beat the winter blahs

You haven’t been on your boat (or on the links, or in the surf, etc.) since before Christmas. Tension is mounting, and you have little energy within you. You are eating more to relieve your stress. One effective way to lower these blahs, according to psychologists, is to relax. But the very best way to re-energize and increase your optimism is to BURN YOUR WINTER SOCKS.

How’s that?

Yes, you can both eat more and relax at the same time by burning your winter socks at the South Carolina Maritime Museum’s  “Burning of the Socks” celebration on Thursday, March 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, on the waterfront at 729 Front Street in Georgetown.

The event is a “fun”draiser for the museum, and you will be treated to delicious hors’doeuvres, Cajun gumbo (seafood and landlubber styles), beer, wine, liquor, live music, and door prizes. The cost is only $25 each for members, $30 for non- (but soon to be) members. Tickets can be purchased at the Museum or online HERE.  For any questions, call 843-520-0111.

But what’s the burning of the socks all about?

It’s become a coastal tradition, dating back to the mid-1980’s, starting in Annapolis. There, Bob Turner, who managed a boatyard, got tired of the winter blahs. While working on boats all winter, his socks collected sawdust, bottom paint, caulk, fiberglas resins, and other boat yard leavings. In other words, his socks would stand up when he took them off at night. One year, on the first day of Spring, he took off his socks, put them in a paint tray, sprinkled on some lighter fluid, lit them, and then had a beer to celebrate. The tradition began.

There are now sock burnings in other boating towns across the country. This will be the 7th annual in Georgetown and Captain Bob Turner, who now lives in Pawleys Island, will be our guest of honor.