Sisimiut tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 22:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Nuuk local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Sat 16 May (range 4.1m). Last neap on Tue 12 May. Next neap on Sun 17 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Sisimiut is Greenland's second-largest city with a population of approximately 5,500, located at 67°N on the west coast, 320 km north of Nuuk and 240 km south of Ilulissat. It sits at the boundary between the subarctic and Arctic climate zones — a boundary that has significant practical implications: Sisimiut's harbour is ice-free for approximately 9–10 months of the year, longer than Ilulissat's, and the town operates as a logistics hub for communities further north when those harbours are frozen. The town is colourful, compact, and built on a rocky peninsula with the Greenland Ice Sheet visible on the horizon to the east. The tidal regime at Sisimiut is West Greenland semidiurnal: mean range approximately 2.3–2.5 m, spring range up to 3.0 m, with diurnal inequality. The tidal currents through the offshore islands and skerries around the town are channelled and can reach 1.5–2.5 knots on spring ebb and flood — among the strongest coastal currents on this section of the west coast. The skerry zone immediately west of the town provides complex, tide-influenced navigation that requires local chart knowledge for unfamiliar vessels. For sea kayakers, Sisimiut is one of the premier Arctic kayaking destinations. The route from Sisimiut south to Nuuk — the Arctic Circle Trail by sea — is a multi-week expedition covering 320 km of fjord, open coast, and island passages. The tidal currents in the inter-island passages favour specific transit windows: arriving at the entrance to a 1.5-knot flowing passage on the flood when you want to go north, or on the ebb going south, cuts paddling effort significantly. Local guides from Sisimiut-based operators know the currents intimately and are the responsible way to undertake this route for first-timers. For the recreational visitor staying in Sisimiut, day paddles in the immediate town waters are available from local kayak operators. The tidal current off the harbour entrance runs strongly on the ebb and flood; beginners should paddle in the protected inner harbour until comfortable with the conditions. The outer skerry zone — accessible on a slack water transition — offers dramatic Arctic coastal scenery: sea birds on the rock stacks, occasional humpback and minke whales feeding on the tidal rips, and the coastal mountain backdrop. Humpback whales are common in the outer waters around Sisimiut in summer (June–September). They concentrate on the tidal rips at the skerry headlands where sand lance and capelin are pushed to the surface by the current. The ebb and flood transition windows — approximately 1 hour either side of high water and low water — produce the most predictable whale activity at fixed surface-feeding rip locations. Whale watching by boat is available; the same tidal timing principles apply. For anglers, the tidal rips around the outer skerries concentrate cod, Atlantic mackerel (which have moved north with warming seas in recent years), and halibut in the deeper passages. The rock-platform fishing around the town peninsula is accessible at low water exposures. Greenlandic halibut are targeted by longline by the commercial fleet out of the harbour. A guided day-fishing charter from Sisimiut provides the best access to the productive tidal rip locations. Sisimiut's sea-ice season is shorter than communities to the north: the harbour is typically ice-free from March onwards, making it the first operational Arctic port each spring. During the short ice-affected period (December–February in most years), the inner harbour freezes but the tidal flushing from the outer passages keeps the harbour entrance workable in most winters. Davis Strait pack ice approaches the coast in severe winters. All tide predictions for Sisimiut come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum. For navigating the tidal passages in the skerry zone west of the town, local tidal reference data from the Danish Meteorological Institute (dmi.dk) should be used in preference to the gridded model for passage planning.