West End is the western tip of Ribbon Reef No. 9, where steep walls drop to coral gardens at their base and are cut by small caves and crevices. Mike Ball's photographers' guide describes two distinct personalities here. The north-eastern wall carries large gorgonian fans and is a place where cuttlefish lay eggs. The western wall supports vast clusters of Acropora, and one large Acropora patch is topped with dense swarms of blue-green chromis, a classic Great Barrier Reef image.

The reef flat shallows show new coral growth and fresh plate corals after the cyclones of the 2010s, which makes the safety stop a pleasure. Large crevices in the walls shelter giant sweetlips and Queensland groupers, and Great Barrier Reef, spinecheek and pink anemonefish live in anemones along the top.

The site's special attraction is mandarinfish. Mike Ball's guides report them on the western wall at about 20 m in late afternoon, when light is poor and the fish emerge from rubble and branching coral to feed and court. They are small and shy, so a keen eye, patience and a dim torch are needed.

West End is a good all-round dive, combining walls, gardens and macro, and suits intermediate divers comfortable on a wall. Photographers can split their time: wide-angle on the chromis-covered Acropora and the fans, macro on the mandarinfish. It lies close to the Ribbon 9½ sites (Pixie Pinnacle, Challenger Bay, Gotham City), so it slots easily into a day of diving in the area, and it makes a good late-afternoon dive for anyone hoping to photograph mandarinfish without a night dive.

Liveaboard only (or fly-dive via Lizard Island). Mike Ball Dive Expeditions' Spoilsport and Spirit of Freedom depart Cairns (Trinity Wharf / Marlin Marina) in the evening and steam north overnight, roughly 12–14 hours and 200–250 km, to reach the Ribbon Reefs by morning; some itineraries fly Cairns–Lizard Island (about one hour, scenic flight along the coast) and board or disembark there. Trips run 3–7 nights and include West End on some Ribbon Reef itineraries.

Divers enter by giant stride from the dive deck at the mooring and descend the mooring line. The mooring sits off the western tip of Ribbon Reef No. 9; the western wall and the north-eastern wall can be dived as separate dives from the same mooring.

The Ribbon Reefs sit on the edge of the continental shelf and take the full south-east trade wind from April to October. Lagoon-side moorings stay diveable in 20–25 knot SE winds, but reef-front sites and passes need lighter winds; liveaboards shelter behind the reefs overnight. September to December is usually calmest.

Tidal flow through the gaps between the Ribbons is strong on springs, so exposed pinnacles are timed for slack water. December to April brings rain, lower visibility and cyclone risk; box jellyfish and Irukandji are possible November to May. West End is on the leeward tip of the reef and is diveable in moderate trades.

Mandarinfish on the western wall are best in overcast conditions or late afternoon.

For the western wall, descend to about 20 m, follow the wall past the large crevices and Acropora patch, and search the rubble near 20 m for mandarinfish late in the day. For the north-eastern wall, work along the gorgonian fans. Ascend onto the reef flat for the safety stop among new plate corals.

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions (Spoilsport) – occasional to regular on Ribbon Reef itineraries.