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What's in a name?

The Daunt Sub Aqua Club is named after the Daunt lightships which were stationed east of the Daunt Rock outside Cork harbour to guide shipping away from this dangerous hazard. Before this, the Daunt Rock had been identified by a Bell Boat which was first put in place in 1865 and 1874 the Bell Boat was replaced by a lightship. Lightships including the Puffin, Guillemot, Gannet and Comet stationed at the Daunt Rock encountered many dangers and a number of crew members were lost at sea. The Puffin was placed on station at the Daunt Rock in 1874. On October 8, 1896, a gale swept the south coast of Ireland, that caused huge seas to develop and by the morning of the ninth the Puffin lightship was nowhere to be seen. On October 25, a length of anchor cable was found, and with the weather deteriorating, operations had to be abandoned until November 5, when divers, following the cable, found the forlorn remains of the Puffin. The Guillemot was towed in as a replacement. The Gamet was hit by the vessel Largo Bay in 1884 but was repaired and served until 1928. In 1936 the Comet broke her moorings in a violent storm in which all eight crew members were heroically rescued by the crew of the Bailycotton lifeboat. In 1974 the lightship was discontinued and replaced by a buoy. The connection with the Daunt lightships still continues today. A club member’s wife, (herself a past club diver), is the daughter of one of the lightship crew members. David Moran, at the time a 29-year-old newlywed, was rescued on that stormy night in 1936 from the Comet Lightship!

Diving in the club?

The club was founded in 1974 by a small group of enthusiastic and pioneering people and in March 1978 became affiliated with the Irish Underwater Council. October 1978 saw the first group of qualified club divers and in 1981 the first instructors qualified. The club’s first boat was an open Zodiac inflatable and in 1984 the club purchased a Lifeguard inflatable with a 40hp outboard. Long-term members recall a dive trip from Achilles to the Bull Rock on the Beara peninsula which was a one and a half hour journey each way. Today the club had a well-equipped, 7.5M XS RIB capable of ferrying 12 fully kitted divers. The club’s diving is predominately undertaken along the coasts of Cork and Kerry which provides an abundance of spectacular diving involving both wrecks and scenic dives. This allows members to dive everywhere from the Blasket Islands in Kerry to the Ling Rocks, seven miles southeast of Kinsale. Members also like to partake in sea search dives in the sheltered coves and bays. As a matter of tradition and respect to the Daunt Lightship, the club undertakes a dive to the Daunt Rock on an annual basis. A southern regional dive weekend was organized by the Daunt Club in 2002, and these have become an integral part of the diving calendar. The club today is comprised of 10 members, from experienced two-star club divers up to monitor two stars. There is a constant focus to develop the diving skills of members through in-house refresher programs and CFT training courses. Members have participated in a wide variety of diving around the world

You can

find us

Puffin II is our club Heart and Soul. She’s a modern and well-equipped 7.5m XS Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boat (RIB) with a Single 250 HP four-stroke engine. Puffin II can accommodate up to twelve divers, that we can take on trips to explore the coast-line of West Cork or Kerry.

Membership Benefits & Fees

Benefits

Our membership fees are different from other organizations as we are a club run by the members, for the members, on a not-for-profit basis. We charge members an annual fee which gives you: