Low Isles
Low Isles are two islets on a steep-to drying reef about a mile long, 8.5 miles east of Dayman Point and a short run from Port Douglas (NGA). A light and a signal station stand on the islets; Woody Island is the second islet. It's a Sensitive Location in the Cairns Planning Area with some of the tightest rules on this coast: 6 kn, daylight access to the island, and no discharge of any kind.
- 1Low Isles · OSM (Nominatim).
- 2Woody Island (closed Sep to Mar) · OSM (Nominatim).
- 3Snapper Island · OSM (Nominatim).
At a glance
| What it is | Two islets on a drying reef, with a light station |
| Anchorage | 0.5 mile NNW of the islets, 12.8 to 14.6 m, mud, good holding (NGA) |
| Moorings | Use public moorings if available (Reef Authority) |
| Speed | 6 kn for vessels and aircraft (Reef Authority) |
| Rescue | MRQ Port Douglas, 24/7 |
Getting in
- MRQ says the unit runs 24/7 under the call sign "MRQ Port Douglas". General enquiries (07) 4099 5392; any time: 131 MRQ (131 677)
- Emergency: VHF 16 or Triple Zero (000)
Approach. NGA says the islets sit on a steep-to drying reef about 1 mile long and give good radar returns up to 14 miles. A light and signal station are on the islets.
Anchoring. NGA gives anchorage 0.5 mile NNW of the islets in 12.8 to 14.6 m, mud, with good holding. The Reef Authority says vessels under 35 m can access and anchor, using public moorings if available. A no-anchoring area is marked by reef protection markers. Anchoring is allowed within 50 m of the private moorings and within 200 m of the passenger transfer pontoon.
Rules at Low Isles
- Speed. 6 kn for vessels (and aircraft) (Reef Authority).
- Access. The island is open only between sunrise and sunset, except where the Cairns Area Plan of Management allows otherwise (Reef Authority).
- Discharge. No greywater, sewage, or fresh fish or fish parts (Reef Authority).
- Hull work. No hull scraping, cleaning or painting (Reef Authority).
- Woody Island. Closed from September to March to protect nesting pied imperial pigeons, and no motorised water sports (Reef Authority).
- Group size. A Low use setting: maximum 15 people per vessel (Reef Authority).
Tropical North Queensland in brief
- Marine park. Almost all of this water is in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the matching Queensland marine park. Check the zone on the Reef Authority zoning map before you fish or anchor.
- No-anchoring areas. These are mostly marked by white pyramid buoys with a blue label. Don't anchor inside them; use the public moorings (blue buoys), which have time limits and vessel-size classes (Reef Authority).
- Crocodiles. The Queensland Government says crocodile habitat starts near Gladstone and runs north, and no waterway in their range is crocodile-free. Keep arms and legs inside the boat, use the boat or trailer as a barrier at ramps, avoid small craft like kayaks, never clean fish at ramps, and stay more than 10 m from any crocodile. They're more active at night and in the September to April breeding season (Be Crocwise).
- Stingers. Marine stingers are present all year, with higher risk from November to May. Swim at patrolled beaches and in stinger nets and wear a full-body lycra suit. If someone is stung, call Triple Zero (000) and pour vinegar on the sting; Irukandji symptoms can take 20 to 40 minutes to show (Queensland Government, page updated 2 October 2019).
- Cyclones. The official season runs from 1 November to 30 April, though cyclones can form outside it (Bureau of Meteorology). On 30 October 2026 the Bureau had not yet published its 2026–27 tropical cyclone outlook. Have a cyclone plan before you leave a boat here in summer.
Ashore
Low Isles has no shops or cafés; the nearest are in Port Douglas.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.
Official links
Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.
- Reef Authority: Cairns and Cooktown site-specific management
- Reef Authority: Cairns Area Plan of Management
- Reef Authority moorings and no-anchoring areas: Lizard Island to Innisfail
- Reef Authority zoning Map 5: Cairns (PDF)
- Queensland notices to mariners, all areas (subscribe)
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland coastal waters forecasts
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Bureau of Meteorology: tropical cyclones in Australia
- Reef Authority (GBRMPA): zoning maps, all areas
- Queensland Government: boating in crocodile habitat
- Queensland Government: dangerous marine life (stingers)
- Marine Rescue Queensland: rescue units
Sources & credits
Written in our own words from the Reef Authority Cairns and Cooktown site-specific management page (updated 15 January 2025), the Cairns Area Plan of Management page and the Lizard Island to Innisfail moorings and no-anchoring map, NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand, 16th edition (2025, updated to 30 July 2026), the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority zoning maps, site-specific management pages and moorings and no-anchoring maps, the Queensland Government (TMR) recreational boating facilities list (fetched 30 October 2026), Marine Rescue Queensland unit pages and OpenStreetMap, all read on 30 October 2026. NGA Pub. 127 Sector 8 (8.16) for the islets and the anchorage.
Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (notices to mariners, and the port procedures and information for shipping for Abbot Point, Townsville, Lucinda, Mourilyan, Cairns, and Cape Flattery, Cooktown and Port Douglas) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.
Transport and Main Roads. Ramp, jetty and pontoon details from the Recreational Boating Facilities Queensland dataset © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads) 2021, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU, fetched 30 October 2026. Not endorsed by TMR.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Zoning, site-specific management, plan of management, no-anchoring area and public moorings information © Commonwealth of Australia (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), licensed under CC BY 4.0, summarised in our own words. Zoning maps are linked, not reproduced; the official maps and the zoning plan prevail. Not endorsed by the Reef Authority.
Queensland Government. Crocodile and marine stinger safety advice from qld.gov.au (CC BY 4.0), summarised. Marine Rescue Queensland unit details from the MRQ website, checked on the date shown in each rescue box.
Bureau of Meteorology. Tropical cyclone season information, forecasts, warnings and tide pages are linked, not reproduced.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand, U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are old; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles, facility positions and the Ashore lists © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Last checked: 30 October 2026.
Need a boat moved to or from Port Douglas?
Get a delivery quoteNeed a delivery skipper for this coast? Get a quote from Garry Hartshorne, AMSA Master <45.
Townsville, Magnetic Island & the Palms cruising guide
Townsville is northern Queensland's main port and the base for this stretch: Breakwater Marina sits by the harbour entrance, and Ross Creek, behind the port's swing basin, has the yacht club and ramps. Every vessel in the port keeps a watch on VHF 12 and 16. Magnetic Island, across Cleveland Bay, has Nelly Bay Harbour, public moorings and marked no-anchoring areas. North-west, the Palm Islands have anchorages on their west sides, with Orpheus Island's best-known bays now partly marked as no-anchoring areas.
- 1Townsville: Breakwater Marina & Ross Creek · Ship port + marinas
- 2Magnetic Island · Island bays + boat harbour
- 3Palm Islands & Orpheus Island · Island anchorages
Guides in this region, south to north
Townsville: Breakwater Marina & Ross Creek
Ship port + marinas
Townsville for small craft: Breakwater Marina, Ross Creek, Ross River channel, VTS on VHF 12 and current dredging. Not for navigation.
Magnetic Island
Island bays + boat harbour
Magnetic Island by boat: Nelly Bay Harbour, Horseshoe Bay, public moorings, no-anchoring areas and the wreck. Not for navigation.
Palm Islands & Orpheus Island
Island anchorages
Orpheus, Pelorus, Fantome and Great Palm: anchorages, Reef Authority no-anchoring areas and moorings. Not for navigation.
Entrances and hazards to plan around
- Townsville: Breakwater Marina & Ross Creek: Breakwater Marina channel by the white sector light; Ross Creek through the swing basin, not while the port busy signal shows (MSQ). Ross River channel 1.2 m (NtM 549(T)-2026).
- Magnetic Island: No-anchoring areas at Florence Bay, Picnic Bay and Arthur Bay; 6 kn buoys in Horseshoe Bay (Reef Authority; MSQ).
- Palm Islands & Orpheus Island: No-anchoring areas at Pioneer Bay and Yanks Jetty on Orpheus (Reef Authority). Challenger Bay 7.3 to 9.1 m, sand (NGA).
Read the current MSQ Townsville notices before you go: dredging runs in the channels and the Ross River through November and December 2026.
Neighbouring regions
- South: Bowen & Cape Upstart
- North: Hinchinbrook & the Cassowary Coast
- Whitsundays to Cooktown (section map)
- All cruising guide sections
About these guides
These are planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources: Maritime Safety Queensland notices and port procedures, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Transport and Main Roads boating facilities data, Queensland Government croc and stinger advice, Marine Rescue Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology, NGA Pub. 127 and OpenStreetMap. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current notices, official tide tables and local advice. Each page shows when its facts were last checked.
Sources & credits
Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (notices to mariners, and the port procedures and information for shipping for Abbot Point, Townsville, Lucinda, Mourilyan, Cairns, and Cape Flattery, Cooktown and Port Douglas) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.
Transport and Main Roads. Ramp, jetty and pontoon details from the Recreational Boating Facilities Queensland dataset © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads) 2021, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU, fetched 30 October 2026. Not endorsed by TMR.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Zoning, site-specific management, plan of management, no-anchoring area and public moorings information © Commonwealth of Australia (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), licensed under CC BY 4.0, summarised in our own words. Zoning maps are linked, not reproduced; the official maps and the zoning plan prevail. Not endorsed by the Reef Authority.
Queensland Government. Crocodile and marine stinger safety advice from qld.gov.au (CC BY 4.0), summarised. Marine Rescue Queensland unit details from the MRQ website, checked on the date shown in each rescue box.
Bureau of Meteorology. Tropical cyclone season information, forecasts, warnings and tide pages are linked, not reproduced.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand, U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are old; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles, facility positions and the Ashore lists © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Need a boat moved through the Townsville, Magnetic Island & the Palms region?
Get a delivery quoteNeed a delivery skipper for this coast? Get a quote from Garry Hartshorne, AMSA Master <45.
Cruising guides: Whitsundays to Cooktown
Free planning notes for the run north from the Whitsundays to Cooktown, written by a working delivery skipper. There are 14 place guides in 5 regions: Bowen and Cape Upstart, Townsville with Magnetic Island and the Palm Islands, Hinchinbrook and the Cassowary Coast, Cairns and Fitzroy Island, and Port Douglas to Cooktown. It's reef country inside the Great Barrier Reef, with working ship ports at Townsville and Cairns, shallow river bars, crocodiles, stingers and the cyclone season. Pick a region, or click a spot on the map.
- Bowen & Cape Upstart
- Townsville, Magnetic Island & the Palms
- Hinchinbrook & the Cassowary Coast
- Cairns & Fitzroy Island
- Port Douglas to Cooktown
- 1Bowen · Bowen & Cape Upstart
- 2Cape Upstart & Upstart Bay · Bowen & Cape Upstart
- 3Townsville: Breakwater Marina & Ross Creek · Townsville, Magnetic Island & the Palms
- 4Magnetic Island · Townsville, Magnetic Island & the Palms
- 5Palm Islands & Orpheus Island · Townsville, Magnetic Island & the Palms
- 6Lucinda & the Hinchinbrook Channel · Hinchinbrook & the Cassowary Coast
- 7Cardwell & Port Hinchinbrook · Hinchinbrook & the Cassowary Coast
- 8Dunk Island & Mission Beach · Hinchinbrook & the Cassowary Coast
- 9Mourilyan Harbour & Innisfail · Hinchinbrook & the Cassowary Coast
- 10Fitzroy Island · Cairns & Fitzroy Island
- 11Cairns & Trinity Inlet · Cairns & Fitzroy Island
- 12Port Douglas & Dickson Inlet · Port Douglas to Cooktown
- 13Low Isles · Port Douglas to Cooktown
- 14Cooktown & the Endeavour River · Port Douglas to Cooktown
Regions, south to north
Bowen & Cape Upstart
Bowen's boat harbour, Edgecumbe Bay, Abbot Point and Cape Upstart · 2 guides
Region overview →Townsville, Magnetic Island & the Palms
Townsville's marinas and Ross Creek, Magnetic Island's bays and the Palm Islands · 3 guides
Region overview →Hinchinbrook & the Cassowary Coast
Lucinda, the Hinchinbrook Channel, Cardwell, Dunk Island, Mission Beach, Mourilyan and Innisfail · 4 guides
- Lucinda & the Hinchinbrook Channel
- Cardwell & Port Hinchinbrook
- Dunk Island & Mission Beach
- Mourilyan Harbour & Innisfail
Cairns & Fitzroy Island
Fitzroy Island and Cairns, with Trinity Inlet and Marlin Marina · 2 guides
Region overview →Port Douglas to Cooktown
Port Douglas and Dickson Inlet, Low Isles, and Cooktown on the Endeavour River · 3 guides
Region overview →Entrances and hazards on this stretch
The whole stretch is inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: check the zoning map, keep out of the no-anchoring areas and use the public moorings where they're laid (Reef Authority). Townsville and Cairns are working ship ports with VTS on VHF 12 and 16; Abbot Point has a coal terminal and a space-launch exclusion area that is broadcast when active. River and creek entrances shoal and shift: the Johnstone River bar at Innisfail, Enterprise Channel at Lucinda, Molongle Creek and the Daintree are all subject to current notices about mobile seabed. Cooktown is a small river port that NGA strongly advises against entering without local knowledge. From April to November the south-east trade current sets north-west at about 0.5 to 1.2 kn north of Cairns; the cyclone season runs from 1 November to 30 April (NGA Pub. 127; Bureau of Meteorology).
Weather, cyclones, crocs and stingers
The official tropical cyclone season runs from 1 November to 30 April, though cyclones can form outside it (Bureau of Meteorology). On 30 October 2026 the Bureau had not yet published its 2026–27 tropical cyclone outlook. Check the Bureau's coastal waters forecasts and warnings before every leg.
Crocodile habitat starts near Gladstone and runs north, and estuarine crocodiles can be in any waterway or the sea in that area. Marine stingers, including box jellyfish and Irukandji, are in tropical Queensland waters all year, with higher risk from November to May (Queensland Government). Read the croc and stinger advice linked on each page before you swim or take the tender ashore.
Other sections
The Australian coast is split into 8 sections, from north to south and then west into Victoria. 8 Australian sections planned, 6 written, plus Tonga:
- Whitsundays to Cooktown (this section)
- Bundaberg to the Whitsundays
- Mooloolaba to Bundaberg
- Tweed to Mooloolaba
- Tweed to Newcastle (planned)
- Newcastle to Wollongong
- Wollongong to Gabo Island (planned)
- Gabo Island to Melbourne
Pacific: Tonga (4 regions, 11 place guides)
See all sections on the map →How to use these guides
Every guide is a planning aid: what to expect, who to call, and where to look for the official word. None of it replaces the current chart, the MSQ notices to mariners, the Reef Authority zoning maps, the tide tables or a chat with the locals.
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report a correction.
Sources and credits
Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (notices to mariners, and the port procedures and information for shipping for Abbot Point, Townsville, Lucinda, Mourilyan, Cairns, and Cape Flattery, Cooktown and Port Douglas) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.
Transport and Main Roads. Ramp, jetty and pontoon details from the Recreational Boating Facilities Queensland dataset © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads) 2021, licensed under CC BY 3.0 AU, fetched 30 October 2026. Not endorsed by TMR.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Zoning, site-specific management, plan of management, no-anchoring area and public moorings information © Commonwealth of Australia (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), licensed under CC BY 4.0, summarised in our own words. Zoning maps are linked, not reproduced; the official maps and the zoning plan prevail. Not endorsed by the Reef Authority.
Queensland Government. Crocodile and marine stinger safety advice from qld.gov.au (CC BY 4.0), summarised. Marine Rescue Queensland unit details from the MRQ website, checked on the date shown in each rescue box.
Bureau of Meteorology. Tropical cyclone season information, forecasts, warnings and tide pages are linked, not reproduced.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand, U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are old; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles, facility positions and the Ashore lists © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Natural Earth. Locator and card maps drawn from Natural Earth (public domain).
Need a boat moved between the Whitsundays and Cooktown?
Get a delivery quoteNeed a delivery skipper for this coast? Get a quote from Garry Hartshorne, AMSA Master <45.