CatchWindow fishing intelligence

Nantucket Island, MA Daily Water Report — September 5, 2026

Sailing owns Nantucket Island today. At 9.2 out of 10 it is the only activity in excellent territory, and the reason is straightforward: a usable northerly has filled in under nearly cloudless skies while the sea stays modest. That is not a safety declaration, only the score those wind, wave, and cloud inputs produce. A representative 12 knots from the north, gusting to 16, with a day range of 3.7 to 16.6 knots, is a different day from yesterday’s reconstructed 1.6-knot whisper that left sailing at 5.6. The strongest gust, 21.4 knots, is forecast near 15:00, so the cleanest window is morning through early afternoon. Cloud cover is 6 percent, pressure 1008 hPa and rising, and no rain is indicated. Marine forecast waves run 0.6 to 0.9 meters, representative 0.7 meters at 5.25 seconds, with a 0.44-meter swell from 208 degrees under shorter 0.34-meter wind waves. The calmest sea is 0.6 meters near midnight, not during working hours. Those same ingredients tax smaller craft. Boating falls to 6.0 from yesterday’s 8.6, and kayaking slumps to 4.3 from 7.6, paying for the northerly plus a 3 meters-per-second current toward 232 degrees. Afternoon gusts are the tradeoff if you go. Surfing holds a workmanlike 6.2 on short-period, modest-height energy, a slight bump from 5.8, not a session to rearrange the day for. Fishing is a middling 5.2, down from 6.2, mixing last-quarter moon, rising pressure, the northerly, and tides from a 0.03-meter low at 00:48 through a 1.22-meter high at 19:37. Solunar majors fall 06:39–08:39 and 18:39–20:39. Wildlife scores 7.4 on solunar timing, low-tide proximity, and wind; the 0.16-meter low at 12:45 is the tide that score uses. Air runs 16.9–21.5 C, marine surface water 20.8 C, atmospheric visibility 20 km. Sunday through Tuesday ease the sea toward 0.3–0.5 meters by the 8th, then winds climb toward 28–31 knots and waves build on the 9th and 10th. Best bet: sail the morning northerly and be in before that 15:00 gust.