Nantucket Shoals

Nantucket Shoals stretch east and southeast from the island into the Atlantic, a maze of shallow banks crossed by strong currents. The water over some shoals is only a few feet deep, and the shifting bottom makes the passage hazardous. Nantucket whalers once hunted close to shore in small boats; as whales became scarcer near the island in the early eighteenth century, they began outfitting sailing vessels to pursue them farther offshore.