The Hingham High School Sailing Team had an impressive win against Wellesley last week. With Wellesley being a tough competitor for Hingham throughout the years, this triumph kickstarted the 2026 spring season. Interestingly, Hingham practices on the Harbor, their races either at the Hingham Maritime Center or Hingham Yacht Club. With extensive practice, they become accustomed to the current patterns and the feel of sailing in the harbor. Conversely, some other teams in the area such as their recent competitor, Wellesley, practice on a lake. Therefore, with this meet being a home-meet, Hingham’s Sailing Team had the home-water advantage.
These races consist of three Hingham boats racing three boats of the opposing team. The point system is centered around accumulating points. The points correspond to the place. These points are achieved through placement in each individual race. So first place would receive one point while third place would receive three points. Senior Captain Madeleine Accettella explained, “If a team gets ten points or less they win that race.” The teams compete in the best out of five races. Therefore, a team must win three races in order to be deemed the victor of the race. Hingham, being an only varsity sport at Hingham, includes a Team One and a Team Two. Team One’s races determine the verdict of the overall race. At their race against Wellesley, this team included three boats. The first of three operated by senior captains Madeleine Accettella (skipper) and Audrey Smith (crew). The second operated by junior captain Nora Synnott (skipper) and Sally Egan (crew). Finally, Thomas Richards (skipper) and Jess Scipone (crew) operated the third boat of Team One.
While Hingham, without protest, won the first race, Wellesley protested Hingham’s victory in the second race. Due to the fact that there were no umpires present at this race, the dispute had to be resolved off of the water. This led to the need for another race. However, Hingham proved that the dispute could not shake their determination as they won both the third and fourth races, bringing victory to the team. Because sometimes scheduled sailing races fail to occur as a result of wind patterns or wind strength required to sail, Hingham and Wellesley decided to compete in a fifth race just for fun which Hingham also won. Excitingly, Team Two raced four races and won three of them, demonstrating the depth and skill of Hingham’s Sailing Team. This depth was highlighted by senior captain Audrey Smith who remarked, “I’m sad to be graduating but super excited for the team since it is mostly underclassmen and we will only be graduating three seniors!” These underclassmen will carry on Hingham’s legacy and provide a tough opponent for other teams in the upcoming years.
The season is off to a great start, looking very promising. Seniors begin to reflect on the 2026 season being their last, and their goals for this final stretch. Senior captain, Audrey Smith, exclaimed, “I’m excited to be racing with Madeleine this season since we have been partners for many years in the past. Looking forward, I’m hoping we qualify for the Terk trophy, which is the 10th-18th ranked teams in New England, and we’ve managed to qualify for the past two years. I’m also looking forward to sailing in college since many of our recent graduates have gone on to do that and have loved it!”
The Sailing Team has many upcoming races as the days become longer and the weather becomes warmer. Their race times and locations can be found on the HHS Sailing instagram (hhs_sailingteam). The Hingham High student body looks forward to seeing and celebrating the upcoming triumphs of the sailing team this year!
