July 7, 2025 By Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham Maritime Center has offered community access to Hingham’s picturesque waterfront since 1971, with sailing, rowing, paddleboarding, and other programs enjoyed by more than 10,000 participants of all ages.
There’s a focus on “safety, satisfaction, and respect for the environment and the community.”
HMC Board of Directors President Tom Curtis provided this year’s annual update to the select board recently, with some other board members also present at the meeting. The non-profit HMC leases Barnes Wharf from the town.
Opportunities to ‘get out on the water’
“2024 marked its 54th year of continuous operation –- all from Barnes Wharf -– where HMC has offered members of Hingham and our neighboring communities the opportunity to get out on the water” — no boat ownership or private club membership required, Curtis said.
“Our sailors range in age from 7 to 70 and in experience from novice to serious racer,” he explained. “Many of our sailors who graduate through our programs go on to race at a high level — including for their high school teams and many times carrying on into college. Others just grow to love being on the water under sail and go on to cruise the waters of New England and beyond.”
Last year alone, HMC served more than 750 participants, including 365 youth, and 38 adult, sailors enrolled in various sailing classes — with 65 sailboats in their fleet.
Rowing classes popular
The rowing program is a great success story. “Twenty-five years ago, there was no formal rowing program in Hingham Harbor, and today HMC teaches and trains hundreds of people each year,” Curtis told the select board.
The youth rowing program is designed to teach the fundamentals; the High School and College Development class trains rowers to be competitive at the highest levels; adult classes “offer novices an opportunity to try the sport”; and there’s also a “devoted group” of adults who use rowing as a primary mode of exercise.
Experiencing the joys of Hingham Harbor
There has been a 105 percent increase in participation in the paddle boarding program year over year.
“Paddling is one of our newer offerings and provides a more casual way for people to experience the joys of Hingham Harbor from sea level,” Curtis said. “Paddling is accessible for all ages –- as long as you are willing to get wet!”
HMC is a proud partner with the Hingham High School Sailing and HHS Rowing Association. “While most people in town are still skiing, HMC launches it’s docks in mid-March for the beginning of the spring season to provide both teams access to the water for training and to host competitions,” according to Curtis.
“This allows our teams to get the most out of their seasons and to remain competitive year after year — as evidenced by two rowing state titles in a year and a sailing ‘A’ division title for the first time in 16 years!”
Special partnerships
Two of HMC’s most special partnerships last season were with Sunset Point Camp in Hull and SNAP (Special Needs Athletic Partnership), “where HMC was able to offer free programming to get more than 80 people on the water throughout the season — for many of them, it was their first time on a boat in any capacity,” Curtis said.
HMC also hosted a luncheon on the wharf for Linden Ponds residents, complete with a “Little Mariners”-type course at 30 Summer Street.
Little Mariners is a STEM-based HMC marine exploration program designed for kids aged 5-7 years old.
“This program introduces kids to the wide variety of marine life that lives all around us — including horseshoe crabs, birds, fish, flora and the MUD of Hingham Harbor,” Curtis explained. “Capped with a trip to one of the harbor islands, Little Mariners gives kids the freedom to explore and the knowledge to appreciate and to bring their lessons home to their parents and siblings about the cool marine life with which we share our harbor.”
HMC has 37 paid employees, more than 20 sailing and rowing volunteers, and 16 volunteer board members and employs many local youth and young adults — many of whom learned to sail or row at HMC and participate in Hingham High School sailing and rowing programs.
Pop-up beer garden fundraisers planned
A pop-up beer garden “Making Waves” fundraiser is again planned for the 2025 season — July 10 and 11, August 7 and 8, and Sept. 4 and 5, featuring local craft beers, music, food trucks, and games. Tickets are available at https://www.hinghammaritime.org/, along with more information about HMC.
Last year, HMC pivoted from its traditional Harborfeast event, which was a one night annual fundraiser, into a new concept of a pop-up beer garden hosted monthly throughout the summer in partnership with Untold Brewing of Scituate.
“This new format brought an entirely new group of community members to Barnes Wharf — dubbed the “Stroller Brigade,” which would start rolling down Summer Street around 5 p.m. — with young families experiencing the magic of Barnes Wharf, often for the first time,” Curtis said.
Through this event, HMC hosted more than 1,600 people across five Thursdays from May to September.
Following Curtis’ presentation, select board member Liz Klein commented on “the amazing legacy HMC is continuing, giving multi-generations access to the water.”
Scholarships are available for some programs.