St. Crispin's Reef

St. Crispin's Reef is an elongate outer-shelf^[1] coral reef in the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia.

Location and topography

Named after St. Crispin, the French patron saint of cobblers and tanners,^[2] St. Crispin's Reef is located 35 miles off the Queensland coast in the Coral Sea,^[3] in latitude 16° 07' 54.14" S longitude 145° 48' 22.46" E, at a depth of 9 metres.^[4] It lies east of Undine Reef and south of Agincourt Reefs, close to Opal Reef.^[5][6] Protected by neighbor reefs, St. Crispin's structure consists of many shallow sandy channels that reticulate around coral mounds, rather than a typical reef slope. It has an abundance of soft corals and colourful marine life.^[7]

Marine life

St. Crispin's Reef is a popular diving and snorkeling spot for expeditions from Port Douglas and Cairns.^[8] Nicknamed "Flower garden", the reef is host to Sergeant majors, Sweet lips, reef sharks, feather stars and bumphead parrot fish.^[3][9]

Classification

Classified by the Marine Park Authority for "Intensive use",^[10] the reef has four moorings.^[3] In 1998, divers Tom and Eileen Lonergan were accidentally left here by their dive expedition, and went missing. Their bodies were never found. The tragedy inspired the film Open Water.^[11]

References

1. Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching surveys 2006 (research publication no. 87). Australia: Great Barrier reef Marine Park Authority. 2006. p. 48.
2. "Survey 22 - St. Crispin's reef". Surveys of the Great Barrier Reef. Catlin Seaview Survey. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
3. "Snorkeling at St. Crispin's reef". Wavelength. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
4. "St. Crispin's Reef". Transects of St. Crispins reef. Global Reef Record. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
5. "Location of St. Crispin's reef". Wikimapia. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
6. "Map of great barrier reef". Dive Maps of Australia. PADI - Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
7. "2012 survey - St. Crispin's reef". Catlin Seaview Survey. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
8. "Major reef sites from Port Douglas". Frommers. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
9. Zell, len (1 May 2014). The Great Barrier Reef: A Journey Through the World's Greatest Natural Wonder. Murdoch Books. ISBN 978-1743361795.
10. "Classification of reefs". Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
11. "Mystery of couple left behind in shark-infested waters still missing 23 years on". Daily Mirror. 5 June 2021.

16°07′54.14″S 145°48′22.46″E