Point Break sits near a corner of Flynn Reef where tidal current wrapping around the reef creates a back-eddy. In the lee of the point the water is calm and usually very clear, and several small coral bommies sit in that sheltered pocket, each covered in hard corals and surrounded by fish. Passions of Paradise describes it as a protected mooring that comes into its own in north winds, and that is its role on most Cairns itineraries: a reliable site for the summer northerlies when the usual south-east-sheltered moorings are choppy.

The dive is simple in layout. The bommies are close together and easy to circuit, the depth is moderate, and the calm water suits snorkellers as well as divers. Life concentrates on the bommies: schools of fusiliers and damsels over the tops, parrotfish, wrasse and butterflyfish on the flanks, and coral trout and cod in the undercuts.

Because the point channels current past the reef, the water beyond the eddy carries more nutrients and attracts bigger fish; trevally and the occasional reef shark hunt along the current line. Divers should stay in the eddy unless the guide plans a controlled drift, as the current at the point itself can be surprisingly strong on spring tides. For most people this is a pleasant, easy dive with good coral and good visibility rather than a spectacular one, and its value lies in being diveable when other Flynn sites are not.

Photographers appreciate the clean water and the compact, colourful bommies.

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 57 km out through Trinity Inlet and across the lagoon to Flynn Reef takes around 90 minutes on a fast catamaran and noticeably longer on slower dive boats or into a south-easterly chop.

Passions of Paradise uses Point Break when the wind is from the north; Silverswift also lists it among its Flynn moorings. Enter from the stern platform.

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. Point Break is specifically a northerly-wind mooring: it is sheltered in the north to north-easterly breezes of late spring and summer and exposed in south-easterlies, so it is used mostly from October to March.

Descend the mooring and check the current before committing. Tour the cluster of small bommies in the eddy at 8-15 m, staying out of the current line at the point itself. Turn at half gas and return to the mooring through the shallower coral, with a safety stop at 5 m.

Passions of Paradise – day trips when northerly winds make it the sheltered option; Silverswift – occasional; Flynn is also worked by Silverswift, Passions of Paradise and the Pro Dive Cairns liveaboard; the mooring used on any day is chosen by the skipper according to wind, tide and other boats