Ski Slope is one of the nine named moorings Cairns Dive Adventures lists on Flynn Reef, and as the name suggests it is a sloping reef rather than a vertical wall: the reef descends from a shallow crest at a steady angle into deeper water, giving divers a continuous gradient of depth to choose from. This profile is ideal for mixed-ability groups, because each diver can find a comfortable depth while staying on the same stretch of reef, and it makes for easy multi-level dives that extend bottom time. Published descriptions of this particular mooring are sparse, so the account here draws on what operators report for Flynn as a whole: healthy hard-coral cover with expansive fields of plate, table and staghorn corals, and a fish community that includes turtles, moray eels, cuttlefish, whitetip and grey reef sharks, Maori wrasse, giant trevally and anemonefish.

On a slope site the best coral is usually in the upper 10 m where light is strongest, while the deeper sections host sea fans, whip corals and larger fish moving along the reef edge. Giant clams, some very large and old, are a feature of Flynn Reef and can be found on the shallower sections. It is a sound choice as a second or third dive of the day, particularly for divers who prefer a gentle profile to a vertical wall.

Snorkellers can explore the crest. Because the documentation is thin, divers should rely on the briefing for the day's route and the conditions on the mooring.

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 80 minutes on a fast catamaran and noticeably longer on slower dive boats or into a south-easterly chop.

Ski Slope is listed among the Flynn moorings used by Silverswift and Passions of Paradise; it is chosen on the day by the skipper according to wind and tide. 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. Like other Flynn moorings, Ski Slope is chosen when the wind puts it in the lee; published detail on its exact exposure is limited.

Descend the mooring and follow the slope down to your planned maximum (18-20 m for most groups), then traverse along the slope before turning and zig-zagging back up it, finishing with a safety stop on the crest at 5 m.

Silverswift and Passions of Paradise – occasional Flynn day-trip mooring; 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