Pirates Cove sits in an indentation in the southern section of Hastings Reef, and the cove shape gives protection from the northerly winds of summer. Passions of Paradise describes the site's signature as strange, tongue-like coral formations, lobes of reef extending out from the cove at 14-18 m, and recommends it for protected snorkelling and diving. The formations are the reason to come: long spurs of coral separated by sand grooves, a common structure on the Great Barrier Reef where wave energy and sediment movement sculpt the reef edge, but unusually well developed here.

Swimming along them gives a sense of structure and direction, and the sand channels between them are good places to look for rays, goatfish and garden eels. The coral on the formations is a mix of hard and soft forms. Fish life includes the usual Hastings species, parrotfish, wrasse, damsels, butterflyfish, angelfish, coral trout and sweetlips, and turtles and small reef sharks are regularly seen on the reef.

Inside the cove the water is calm and shallow, suitable for snorkellers and for newer divers to stay close to the boat, while the formations at 14-18 m provide a more interesting profile for certified divers. It is a good choice on summer days when many other moorings are choppy. Visibility is typically 12-20 m, and the spurs are best seen on a sunny day when the sand grooves stand out clearly against the coral.

Pirates Cove, 1770 and Golf Clubs lie on different sides of Hastings, and between them give Passions a sheltered option for most wind directions.

Boat access only. Cairns day boats leave from the Reef Fleet Terminal (1 Spence Street) and the neighbouring Marlin Marina on the city waterfront, with check-in between about 7:00 and 8:00 am; most operators run transfers from city and northern-beaches accommodation, and there is paid parking near the terminal. The run of about 50 km out through Trinity Inlet and across the lagoon to Hastings Reef takes around 75 minutes on a fast catamaran and noticeably longer on slower dive boats or into a south-easterly chop.

Pirates Cove is a Passions of Paradise mooring used in summer northerlies; Cairns Dive Adventures also lists it. Enter from the stern steps.

The prevailing south-east trade winds (typically 15-25 knots from April to September) are what limit Cairns outer-reef diving: above about 25 knots trips may be cancelled, and exposed eastern moorings are used only in light winds. Summer northerlies are gentler but make north-facing moorings choppy. Box jellyfish and Irukandji are present from about November to May (stinger suits on every dive), and the cyclone season runs November to April, when a system in the Coral Sea can close the reef for days.

Visibility drops after heavy rain and strong winds; spring is usually calmest and clearest. Hastings has moorings on all sides, so there is almost always a sheltered option. Pirates Cove is protected from summer northerly winds and is mainly used from October to March; in a strong south-easterly the southern side of Hastings is exposed.

Descend into the cove and swim out to the tongue-like coral formations at 14-18 m, following them seaward before turning back and returning along the shallower sides of the cove. Safety stop inside the cove at 5 m.

Passions of Paradise – day trips in northerly winds; other operators occasionally; Hastings is also worked by Reef Experience, Divers Den, Tusa Reef Tours, Aqua Quest, Down Under Cruise & Dive and the Reef Encounter liveaboard; the mooring used on any day is chosen by the skipper according to wind, tide and other boats