Daniel Belena - Director of Sedna Sail & Dive

Daniel Beleña, director of Sedna Sail & Dive and an expert diving instructor tells us what is so special about his job and about living and working on the beautiful island of Mallorca.

What brought you to Mallorca?

I'm from Madrid, and my family used to come to Mallorca for their summer holidays. When I was 13 years old, my uncle convinced me to try scuba diving and that's when my love story with the island started.

Tell us a little bit about your business, how it started out and where you're based...

Combining sailing and diving has been a dream of mine ever since I worked at a diving centre in Cook Islands and Thailand. So when came back to Spain to work as a music teacher in a primary school, after just a year I was missing diving so much that I realised I had to accept the challenge and plunge into the idea I had been thinking about for years. We started in the summer of 2015, when we were based at Puerto de Alcudia. Well, we were actually already working and preparing the boat in March to transform it into a diving and sailing vessel, fitting a diving air compressor, diving equipment and everything we needed for scuba diving. However, this summer we are going to be based at Can Pastilla, at Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa Marina.

What are the best bits about your job / life here?

There's a lot of great things, but probably one of the best feelings I get at my job is when someone dives for the first time, and when coming back on board gives me a big hug saying they just had a blast they will never forget. It's funny, because a boat can seem like a small place to live at, but in fact it gives me the freedom I could never get if I lived in a big city. This is one of my favourite parts.

And the worst bits?

Unfortunately (or fortunately), I'm used to diving in tropical waters, and the Mediterranean Sea is a bit too cold for me during the winter (just a bit).

What makes Mallorca a special place to be for someone in your profession?

Sailing at places like the Tramuntana coast, full of cliffs and mountains, the south of Mallorca with Caribbean-like beaches such as Es Trenc, being able to sail to amazing places like Formentera... On top of that, we have amazing underwater protected wonders at nature reserves, marine reserves and national parks all around the Balearic Islands. And we can even find nice, fully prepared ports and marinas when needed, making sailing even safer.

What is in store for the future with your business, any exciting projects in the pipelines that you can share with us?

Our first big goal is settling down here in the Balearic Islands during the summer season. However, the next immediate step during the winter will surely be sailing to the Caribbean or maybe to the Canary Islands.

What do you do on your days off?

I love the Tramuntana mountain range. But also diving and sailing with friends when I have the chance, or playing the guitar.

Do you have a favourite sailing route / dive spot, that you go to on a regular basis?

That's a very difficult question, since there are amazing spots at the Balearics. However, a brilliant place is La Cabrera National Park, where we anchor for the night and go diving. In addition, I've read about the Balearic Government's new plans to enable new diving spots at this very special archipelago (all activities are very controlled there) and that means great news for us divers!

Where's best for a coffee, or a drink, and a bit of mingling?

I've had very good times at Palma old town.

Where's the best place for lunch or dinner here, and why?

Just a freshly caught fish on the boat's cockpit, at a nice cove on a flat sea.

Where would you go for a bit of culture & atmosphere?

Es Baluard Museum because of it's architecture, it's newfangled collection, temporary exhibitions of contemporary art and good atmosphere.

What's your tip to escape the crowds in the summer?

Going sailing and finding a quiet empty cove. And then diving and relaxing!