The Pinnacles is one of the named moorings on Moore Reef listed by Australian Traveller, together with The Lagoon, Coral Gardens, The Drop Off, Shark Alley, Turtle Bay and 5 Ways. Cairns Dive Adventures counts sixteen moorings on Moore and describes it as a massive horseshoe-shaped reef, with a large deep wall on its eastern side, used by semi-submarines, and a protected western side for snorkelling. Published detail for the individual Pinnacles mooring is thin, so the pinnacle and drop-off moorings are described together here.

The Pinnacles are coral towers rising from the reef slope, giving the vertical relief and shelter that concentrate fish, and The Drop Off and Shark Alley, as their names suggest, lie on steeper sections of the reef edge where whitetip and grey reef sharks patrol. Dive the World describes Moore's coral as rock formations covered in hard and soft corals, with staghorn thickets interspersed with gullies, and notes that the reef functions as a nursery for the surrounding area, with juvenile fish everywhere. Expect friendly Maori wrasse, which Moore is known for, large schools of jacks and trevally, turtles, juvenile barracuda, butterflyfish and angelfish in pairs, sweetlips, lionfish and nudibranchs, with plenty of macro subjects for photographers.

Depths reach about 28 m at the base of the drop-offs, while the pinnacle tops are shallow enough for snorkellers. It is a sound, varied dive for all levels, but divers should expect the specific mooring to vary with the operator. Check with your operator which of these moorings they use.

Visibility on Moore is typically 12-18 m, a little less than on the reefs further out, and the pinnacles are at their best on a rising tide when cleaner water floods across the reef from the east.

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

The Pinnacles and neighbouring moorings (Shark Alley, The Drop Off, Turtle Bay) are used by day boats such as Passions of Paradise and by pontoon operators' tenders; which is dived depends on the operator and the wind.

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. Moore's horseshoe shape shelters its western side in south-easterlies, so the pontoons run in most weather short of a gale or cyclone. The eastern side of Moore, where the drop-off moorings lie, is exposed to the south-easterlies and is used mainly in lighter winds.

Descend the mooring beside the pinnacles to 15-18 m, circuit the main pinnacle and check the drop-off edge, then rise and work back across shallower pinnacle tops at 6-10 m. Safety stop on the top nearest the boat.

Passions of Paradise and pontoon operators (Sunlover, Reef Magic, Great Adventures) – occasional; mooring use varies by operator; Moore is also home to the Sunlover, Reef Magic and Great Adventures pontoons, and is visited by Passions of Paradise and Pure Snorkelling; the mooring used on any day is chosen by the skipper according to wind, tide and other boats