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Massachusetts · Martha's Vineyard · Dukes County · Edgartown

Katama Bay

also known as Kbay

advanced onlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Nearby Sengekontacket Pond 6 km · Cape Poge Bay 9 km · Waquoit Bay 25 km · West Dennis Beach 44 km · Chapin Beach 48 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMay to Novthe months riders and schools name How windy10 ktmixed Launchrestrictedaccess rules on record, below Waterbay19°C in summer · 10 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airport20 minMartha's Vineyard Airport (MVY)

When it fills in

Summer runs on a thermal pattern: the SW fills in and then holds all day rather than switching on for a two-hour afternoon window. September and October wind comes with the weather instead, and can be up at any hour.

Katama Bay, Kbay to everyone in Edgartown, is a big shallow bay behind South Beach and Norton Point, and the everyday flat-water session on Martha's Vineyard. SW is the summer direction; W and E go too. What defines the spot is not the water, it is the access.

Launching at the Katama Bay Boat Ramp is prohibited and the ground near it is restricted, so riders use the Norton Point barrier-beach side, reached by boat, on foot, by wading, or in a 4x4 with a Trustees beach permit.

The bay is also working clamming and aquaculture ground: shell fishermen have right of way, and you keep a 150-foot buffer off them, off fishermen operating boats, and off their gear. Since the barrier beach opened, the cut runs strong tidal current. July and August are the awkward months, between the permit, the crowds and the bird closures.

The Atlantic side from Norton Point is expert-only, and the South Beach swimming areas are closed to kites in season.

The wind

Direction

Character

mixed

fills in: Summer runs on a thermal pattern: the SW fills in and then holds all day rather than switching on for a two-hour afternoon window. September and October wind comes with the weather instead, and can be up at any hour.

Typical strength

No measurement exists for the bay itself. The nearest long-run airport record averages 10 kt with gusts to 23 kt from the WSW over 2007-2026, an indicative land figure that sits under what a summer sea breeze delivers on the water.

Clean and consistent inside the bay. The Martha's Vineyard Airport station averages WSW around 10 kts with 23 kt gusts across 2007-2026 observations, which is an airport figure rather than a bay figure.

Water lessons are available May-November, and Katama Bay works best on SW summer days. Access is particularly difficult in July and August.

Also on record

Direction to shore

SW summer winds are locally described as best for Katama Bay; exact shore angle depends on the Norton Point launch position.

Dominant direction

SW best in summer; W and E also rideable.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan82
Feb85
Mar82
Apr72
May, riders' month69
Jun, riders' month51
Jul, riders' month56
Aug, riders' month44
Sep, riders' month50
Oct, riders' month59
Nov, riders' month82
Dec76

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.

16Jan6°
16Feb4°
16Mar5°
14Apr9°
13May13°
12Jun17°
12Jul21°
11Aug21°
12Sep20°
12Oct17°
15Nov13°
15Dec8°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	82%	16.2 kt	W	2.3°C	5.5°C
Feb	85%	16.3 kt	WNW	2.4°C	3.9°C
Mar	82%	16.2 kt	W	5.3°C	5°C
Apr	72%	14.4 kt	WSW	9.2°C	8.5°C
May	69%	12.9 kt	SW	13.4°C	13.1°C
Jun	51%	11.6 kt	SW	18.5°C	16.9°C
Jul	56%	11.7 kt	SW	23.2°C	20.5°C
Aug	44%	10.9 kt	WSW	22.1°C	20.5°C
Sep	50%	11.7 kt	ENE	19.1°C	20.1°C
Oct	59%	12.1 kt	WSW	14.7°C	17.1°C
Nov	82%	15.3 kt	WNW	9.4°C	12.7°C
Dec	76%	15.2 kt	W	4.8°C	7.9°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

bay

Standing depth

A large shallow bay, and the shallow flat water is the whole reason people ride here.

Tides

Tidal bay with real access and current issues. The barrier beach has been open since 2007, and the cut it left runs strong tidal current.

Temperature

19°C summer · 5.6°C winter

Wetsuit

Summer water averages about 19 C around Martha's Vineyard, with winter around 5.6 C; use cold-water gear outside the warmest months.

Currents

Strong tidal current can run at the barrier-beach opening.

4–21°C water

Katama Bay sits behind South Beach and Norton Point and is working clamming and aquaculture ground as much as a kite spot. The shallow flat water is the draw; the shellfish users decide where you can go.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

The bay is shallow and lesson-capable in principle, but beginner is marked false here: restricted launch access, shellfish buffers, aquaculture gear and strong tidal current are not a first-week environment. Expert-only applies to the Atlantic side from Norton Point.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreeridelessons

An access-sensitive island spot where the etiquette around shellfish users is what keeps kiting legal here.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: restricted

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Sengekontacket Pond, 6 km

Sengekontacket Pond Cape Poge Bay Waquoit Bay

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

No lifeguards on the bay side and no kite-specific rescue cover. The local protocol assumes you self-rescue with the kite and get yourself back to shore, and it is blunt about the arithmetic: do not go out further than you can swim in, because sooner or later you will swim.

The island kiteboarding association takes calls on 774-310-1424. An emergency on the water is a 911 call to Edgartown emergency services.

Launch

Launch on the Norton Point barrier-beach side, which sits downwind and east of the Katama Bay Boat Ramp. The ramp itself is off limits and the ground near it is restricted. You get in by boat, on foot, by wading, or by driving in with an over-sand permit and tires down to about 15 psi.Parking at the launch takes about four rigs. Norton Point passed from the Trustees of Reservations to the Town of Edgartown on 1 April 2023, so check who issues the driving permit now before turning up expecting to buy one at the gate. Atlantic-side kitesurfing access between Left Fork and Right Fork is strictly prohibited.

Space

restricted

Rules & access

2026 rules, adopted by the Edgartown selectmen in 2019 on the recommendation of the shellfish committee, the marine advisory committee and the harbormaster: shell fishermen have right of way on the water at all times, and kiteboarders must keep at least 150 feet from shell fishermen, from fishermen operating boats, and from aquaculture gear including rafts, cages, upwellers, buoy-fields, floating lines and oyster farms.

Kite launching is prohibited at the Katama Bay Boat Ramp and in the restricted areas near it. On the Atlantic side, kitesurfing at South Beach, Left Fork and Right Fork is prohibited in season in monitored swimming areas. Seasonal shorebird closures on Norton Point are monitored by Mass Audubon and can move the driving access.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Read the current kiting-locations rules and the Trustees closure map before every session; the boundaries move with the birds.
Put something on your feet if you wade in from the boat-ramp side. The bottom is clam shells.
Do not rig, launch or land at the public boat ramp.
Hold the 150-foot buffer off shell fishermen and aquaculture gear wide enough that it is obvious from the water.
Deflate to about 15 psi if you drive Norton Point, and carry the Trustees beach permit.
Read the current kiting-locations rules and the closure map before every session; the boundaries move with the birds.
Deflate to about 15 psi if you drive Norton Point, and carry a current over-sand permit.
Confirm who issues that permit before you travel; Norton Point changed hands from the Trustees to the town in 2023.
There is room for roughly four rigs at the launch, so arrive early on a good SW day.
September and October are the wind months, not just July.

Getting there

Airport

Martha's Vineyard Airport (MVY)

Route

Fly or ferry to Martha's Vineyard, then drive to Edgartown and Katama. For the launch: 4x4 with an over-sand permit via Norton Point, walking in from Left Fork, walking or wading from the boat-ramp side, or by boat.Norton Point has been Town of Edgartown ground since 1 April 2023, with shorebird monitoring by Mass Audubon, so confirm the current permit and closure position before you drive onto the sand.

Transfer

20 min

Cost level

high

Staying

Martha's Vineyard/Edgartown lodging; island accommodation is seasonal and expensive in peak summer.

No-wind days

Edgartown, South Beach when not kiting, clamming where permitted, sailing, boating, cycling, and Martha's Vineyard beaches.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Katama Bay?

The bay works best on SW summer days, though W and E wind is also rideable; the season runs roughly May through November, with July and August being the hardest months for access.

Is Katama Bay suitable for beginners?

This spot is marked not beginner-friendly, because the verified launch has restricted access, shellfish buffers, aquaculture gear, and strong tidal-current cautions, even though the bay itself is generally shallow.

Are there rules for launching?

As of 2026, kite launching is prohibited at the Katama Bay Boat Ramp, and riders must stay at least 150 feet from shell fishermen, boats, and aquaculture gear such as rafts, cages and oyster farms.

What hazards should riders know about?

Aquaculture gear, shell fishermen, clam shells, strong tidal current where the barrier beach opens, and difficult access in July and August are the main hazards.

Last updated: August 2026