Harbormen Sail to Third Place in Top State Division

Successful Season Puts HHS Sailing Back on Map, Ranking 18th in New England

June 9, 2023 By Joe Griffin, HHS Sailing Coach

The HHS Sailing Team celebrated a successful season with a banquet at the Hingham Community Center earlier this week.  From my perspective as coach, this season could not have gone any better.  There were no easy races.  We faced some very strong competition, but we were continuously improving.  By the end of May, we were like a well-oiled machine, coming in second in the Team Race Tournament in Duxbury, which put us in third place overall in the A Division of the Massachusetts Bay League (MBL). The women did a fantastic job, winning the MBL’s Linda Juliano Women’s Team Race for the second year in a row and returning to Newport for the Herreshoff Trophy Finals as one of the top public schools in the New England Schools Sailing Association (NESSA).  In addition, Captains Sarah Menesale and Ellie Smith were recognized as the first female finishers in A fleet at the 48th Massachusetts State High School Championship at MIT.

I think it’s fair to say that after years of hard work by everyone — from the sailors and captains, to the parents, boosters, and assistant coaches —  Hingham has finally reached the big leagues of interscholastic sailing.  This season, we ranked 18 out of 96 public and private secondary schools across New England, bringing us closer than ever to qualifying for the NESSA Team Racing Championships (Presidents & Terk Trophies).

Contributing to our success this year was our fleet of 12 boats, six of which were new to us in 2023, thanks to help from private donors, Hingham Sports Partnership, and our fundraising partnership with Hingham Maritime Center.  With twice as many 420s, we were able to sail our junior varsity team in more races than ever before, which will further strengthen our team.  With these additional boats and support from Hingham Yacht Club, we were able to finally conduct team racing during our practices and also host Winchester, Duxbury, and Lincoln-Sudbury at our very first Quad Meet, where we swept the competition.

Another milestone was having our own coach boat, and I was so fortunate to be supported by three assistant coaches: Brian Cardarella, Erin Devine, and Todd McViney. Todd was a big help early in the season, and Erin was our first woman coach in nearly a decade, which was awesome.  Brian generously shared his rib boat, and with 19 sailors, having a second boat out there was invaluable.  We started on March 20 at Hingham Maritime Center and spent the majority of the season sailing from Hingham Yacht Club, and we are so grateful to both organizations for making our successful season possible.  For me personally, one of the most memorable moments from 2023 was seeing all 12 boats lined up with our brand new sails ahead of our first home Quad Meet at HYC.

At the banquet we said goodbye to our three seniors:  Captain Alden Burt, Georgia English, and Olof Laurell, and we welcomed Chris Hoppe (2024), who will join current Captains Sarah Menesale and Ellie Smith (both 2024) in leading the team next year.  Chris was awarded Most Improved, Alden earned the Bosons Award for keeping our boats well-maintained and making repairs, and the First Mate Award went to Aerin O’Neill (2024).

In 2023, HHS Sailing accomplished so much of what we set out to do years ago, and I know we can achieve even more in 2024.  I urge our sailors to keep recruiting new teammates so that we can continue to build on this season’s positive momentum.  We’ve proven we can compete at the highest level in Massachusetts, and we will continue to work hard to chart our course to qualify for the New England Team Racing Championships.