Pirate's Cove is a far-northern site visited on Mike Ball's Far North Coral Sea Exploratory, on the same day as Aladdin's Cave and the Stanley Island (Yindayin) rock-art excursion. Mike Ball describes soft corals on deep walls for that day's dives. The site likely features a cove or bay in the reef, with walls dropping into deeper water.

Soft corals and gorgonian fans cover the walls, fed by currents, and reef fish, sharks and turtles are typical of the far-northern reefs. Depths and coordinates are not published. Pirate's Cove suits experienced divers on a far-northern expedition.

It is visited only a few times a year. The same-day visit to Stanley Island adds a cultural dimension: the island's rock art depicts turtles, eagle rays, crocodiles and 16th-century sailing ships, spanning thousands of years. Mike Ball requires Advanced certification or at least 15 logged ocean dives, including five in the previous 12 months, for this itinerary.

Getting here is itself an expedition: the far-northern reefs lie hundreds of kilometres north of Cairns, are visited by only a handful of liveaboards in the October–December window, and are many hours from medical help, so divers should be current, self-sufficient, carry an SMB and audible signal, and dive conservatively. Expedition itineraries are flexible by design: the skipper selects sites each day according to wind, swell and tide, so a named site may be swapped for a nearby reef, and divers should book expecting the region rather than any single dive.

Liveaboard only – there are no day boats, resorts or public moorings this far north. Mike Ball Dive Expeditions' Spoilsport runs 7-night 'Northern Exposure' expeditions between Cairns (Trinity Wharf) and Horn Island in the Torres Strait each November (northbound and southbound, up to 27 dives), plus a 7-night Far North Coral Sea Exploratory round trip from Cairns in October. Spirit of Freedom runs 7-night far-north expeditions from Cairns in October–December, and Professional Dive Services' MV Kalinda has run longer (13-night) Cairns–Horn Island trips.

Horn Island has daily scheduled flights to Cairns (book separately; allow 24 hours after diving before flying). The far-northern reefs are roughly 500–650 km north of Cairns – one to two days' steaming each way.

The far-northern reefs are only diveable in a narrow weather window. The south-east trades blow hard from about April to September and make the long open-water passage and the exposed outer walls impractical, so expeditions run in the transition period, typically October–December, when winds are lighter; the northerly monsoon, storms and cyclones (December–April) close the season. Even in the window, exposed shelf-edge walls (Tijou, Great Detached, Raine) need calm days, and skippers switch between reefs to find shelter.

Strong tidal currents and upwellings run along the continental shelf and through reef openings – channel sites are timed to slack water. Visibility varies from about 12 m to 40 m+ depending on tides and any rain. Marine stingers are present from November.

Descend the wall to 18–22 m among the soft corals, work along it with the current, then ascend onto the shallower reef for the safety stop.

Liveaboard only: Mike Ball Dive Expeditions (Spoilsport – 7-night Northern Exposure Cairns↔Horn Island, November; 7-night Far North Coral Sea Exploratory, October); Spirit of Freedom (7-night far-north expeditions, October–December); Professional Dive Services MV Kalinda (occasional long expeditions). Requirements typically Advanced certification or 15+ logged ocean dives.