Situated 30+ nautical miles out to sea and on the continental shelf with a multitude of kinks, bends and gaps in the reef, the variety of waves is mind blowing.  Depending on the many variables of weather and tide, our experienced crew will get you on the best waves on offer.  Great waves can be had any time of the year with the most consistent swell April – June.

NW – SE winds are off shore and the reefs collect any swell from South – North. 

Surfers must come equipped with booties as breaks are over living coral reef and can be compared to Indo on their day.  Breaks are suitable for long and short board riders with plenty of reef to explore between surfs.

"As the first signs of a building South East swell hit the Agnes Water point and surrounding beachies – Neil Mergard, owner and skipper of the MV James Cook plan towards the moment this juicy low pressure system drifts past and delivers offshore winds - so the shallow reef breaks 40 nautical miles out to sea can take the best shape.

Neil calls Andrew Shields, photographer from magazine Surfing Life and the following evening has the sturdy MV James Cook loaded and ready for a 1.00am departure from the Town of 1770 Marina, with surfing professionals such as Dylan Longbottom, James Lewis and Dave Reardon – Smith.

As the sun hits the horizon the MV James Cook cruises north east, determined to surf Barrier Reef waves today.

As the tide rises and the winds drop out to glassy conditions, the swell holds for most of the day on the northern breaks of the Southern Great Barrier Reef –rewarding those who have searched, with uncrowded surfing beauty. 

It was decided that further investigations at other breaks were worthwhile and off we went trolling up a nice Mackerel for dinner and discovering potential, which unfortunately was suffering under the pressure of the strengthening North Easterly, destroying any possibility of scoring in the morning.

So we set course for home so the lads could chase the swell down the coast.  Fresh mackerel, cold beer, game of poker – Yorky cleans the table! a bit of sleep and the MV James Cook arrives safely back in the Town of 1770 by 1.00am.

As it turns out the swell dropped along the south coast in record time leaving everyone with only a taste of those sweet Great Barrier Reef waves but with anticipation of main course to come!"