The dive
Because it’s cut off from other reefs, Turtle Bommie draws huge numbers of fish. From the deepest point, looking up the reef edge on the current side, you’ll see big schools of fusiliers, drummers and sweetlips. On the walls are coral trout, Moorish idols and plenty of clownfish. On the reef top, large plate corals shelter sleeping green turtles.
Conditions and tips
- Weather: the site is exposed and can only be visited in the right conditions, so it isn’t on every trip.
- Finding it: it takes good navigation from the dive tender to find.
- Visibility: usually 12 to 30 metres, averaging 18 to 20 metres.
How to dive it
You dive Agincourt Reef on a day trip from Port Douglas. Certified divers get up to three guided dives at three different sites, with a full briefing before each one. Sites are chosen on the day to suit the weather and tides, so we can’t promise a particular site.
Dive it with us
The trip
Port Douglas boat dives
Agincourt’s outer-reef bommies: walls, sharks and the big pelagics.
See the tripWhere it is
What you might see
- Green turtleThe turtle you’ll meet most on the reef: grazing on the shallows, resting under ledges, surfacing to breathe beside the boat.
- AnemonefishThe clownfish of the reef, living in a sea anemone that would sting anything else. Nearly every site has a family.
- SweetlipsStriped, spotted and thick-lipped, hanging in patient schools under the overhangs by day.
Nearby sites
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Barracuda BommieA deep-water pinnacle on the sheltered side of a small ribbon reef at Agincourt Reef 2, right on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s one of the most popular sites on the Agincourt trips.22 m
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Gary’s GutA wall on the outer edge of Agincourt Reef 4 that plunges from 5 metres to 40 metres. It averages about 20 metres, so it suits Open Water divers, and it’s a favourite with repeat divers.40 m
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Harry’s BommieA garden reef among the pinnacles and patch reefs west of Agincourt Reef 4. It’s a favourite with dive instructors.16 m
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Horse ShoeA patch reef between Agincourt Reefs 2 and 3, in an area of strong tidal movement. You can drift it or dive it from the mooring.20 m
