The Point on Agincourt Reef No. 3 is one of the dives Divernet singles out among the tropical north's best: an outer point on the continental shelf edge where strong currents sweep plankton-rich water along the reef and attract large predators. Visibility here is often 30–45 m, and the reef wall drops in stages towards the abyss beyond the shelf – the seabed off the edge plunges to around 1,000 m. The topography is a series of steps and buttresses.

The upper reef is covered in hard corals and busy with reef fish, and below it the wall falls away in terraces encrusted with gorgonian fans, sea whips and soft corals that feed in the current. This is a place to look outward as much as at the reef: grey reef sharks hang in the current off the point, schools of trevally, barracuda and big-eye trevally circle, and dogtooth tuna and Spanish mackerel make hunting runs. Turtles and eagle rays pass along the wall.

The current that brings all this life also makes the site demanding. It can run strongly around the point, particularly on spring tides, and guides use the lee of buttresses and the sheltered side of the point to manage it. The dive is usually planned in the 15–25 m range, with the option to drift if the tide is running along the reef.

It is best suited to Advanced Open Water divers with drift and current experience. The contrast with the sheltered gardens and lagoon sites of Agincourt is stark – this is the open ocean edge of the Great Barrier Reef. On a clear day, looking down the stepped wall into deep blue with sharks below and schooling fish overhead is one of the finest experiences available on a Port Douglas day trip.

Note that Silverseries also lists a separate site named The Point at the southern end of Agincourt Reef No. 4.

Agincourt day boats leave Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina (formerly the Reef Marina) on Wharf Street, Port Douglas, between about 8:00 and 8:30 am. Park in the marina car park or the free all-day street parking around Wharf and Dixie streets; Quicksilver, Poseidon and Calypso also run coach pick-ups from Port Douglas, Palm Cove and northern Cairns beaches. The run to the Agincourt ribbon reefs on the edge of the continental shelf is about 65–70 km north-east and takes roughly 75–90 minutes on the large catamarans (Silversonic is the fastest), longer on small-group boats such as Scuba IQ/Blue Dive.

You gear up on board and giant-stride from the dive deck at a permanent mooring; the skipper picks the sites on the day to suit wind and tide, so a named site is never guaranteed. Boats are back at the marina around 4:30 pm.

Agincourt is an outer ribbon reef on the shelf edge, so it is fully exposed to the south-east trade winds that blow from about April to September. Moorings on the protected western (back-reef) side remain diveable in 15–20 knots, but anything over 25 knots or a 2.5 m+ sea makes the crossing rough and operators may cancel or switch to more sheltered moorings. Calm spells in October–December give the glassiest days and 30 m+ visibility.

The wet season (December–April) brings northerlies, afternoon storms, cyclone risk and occasional reduced visibility after big rain events, although the outer reef is far less affected by run-off than inshore reefs. Marine stingers are present November–May. Tidal currents run along the reef edges and through the gaps between the Agincourt reefs; spring tides strengthen them, so exposed corners are usually dived on the neaps or near slack water.

Descend on the sheltered side, then move onto the point at 18–25 m with the wall on one shoulder, facing into any current. Hang in the lee of buttresses to watch the pelagics, turn when the current becomes hard work or at half gas, and return along the upper wall at 8–10 m, ascending in the lee for the safety stop.

No-decompression recreational dive; nitrox recommended for repetitive days; maintain a strict maximum depth – the wall continues far beyond recreational limits.

Visited by the Port Douglas day boats and small-group operators (Scuba IQ / Blue Dive, Tech Dive Academy) when conditions allow; not part of every day's rotation because of exposure and current.