Big Blue Diving
Big Blue Diving, Palmanova: SSI and PADI center founded 1997, operating year-round from two RIBs across SW Mallorca's El Toro marine reserve and surrounding sites.
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Isla del Sec
Also known as: El Sec, Illot del Sec, Isla el Sec
Islet in west Palma Bay with three ships sunk for a tourist submarine, a plateau falling past 30 m and barracuda swarms, in a protected reserve zone.
Last updated October 2026
The dive
A plateau runs round the islet and drops to about 32 m on its southern side, and the three ships lie around it. A dive can stay on the plateau, work the wrecks or follow the slope down toward 29 to 32 m. The Clara, the shallower of the two named wrecks, lies at 18 m and the Regis Maris at 29 m. Enough of the ships is left to recognise: engine parts and tubes, with congers and morays among them.
Barracuda swarms make their rounds between the wrecks and the islet, and groupers and octopus are the other regulars. Currents are negligible in this enclosed bay, and a dive usually runs 35 to 50 minutes.
What makes it special
The fish at Isla del Sec expect divers. A tourist submarine once ran from the islet and fish were fed for its passengers; since it left, they still gather around visiting divers, and some accompany a dive hoping for a snack. The ships came for the same audience, sunk to give those passengers something to look at, and the barracuda now circle them.
Since 2025 the islet also sits inside a high-protection zone written for it and its adjacent reef. All marine fishing and extraction is banned there, apart from professional octopus pots and scientific sampling.
History and origin
The ships were sunk deliberately, in the years when the submarine Nemo ran trips to the islet and the islet was an attraction for people who stayed dry. The press names two of them, the Clara and the Regis Maris, as an artificial reef. The submarine has since gone.
The reserve came later. The 2022 unification and enlargement of the Toro and Malgrats reserves stopped short of Sec, and the islet entered the Ponent reserve only with Decreto 26/2025 of 4 July 2025, which gave it a protection regime of its own.1
Know before you go
Individual scuba night dives are banned inside the Sec zone, so this is a daylight site.1 The engine remains and the plateau make good hiding places for congers and morays, which is a reason to hover and look rather than reach in.
Fishing gear has been a problem here. In 2017 a Guardia Civil underwater team lifted an abandoned net from the posidonia beside the site, and a cutting tool belongs on the kit list for this dive.2
Why Dive Isla del Sec
What makes this dive site stand out.
- Three sunken ships
Ships sunk around the islet, the Clara at 18 m and the Regis Maris at 29 m.
- Barracuda swarms
Swarms circle between the wrecks and the islet, the encounter operators name first.
- Fish used to divers
A legacy of the submarine years: fish still gather around visiting divers.
- Plateau and engine remains
A plateau drops toward 32 m; congers and morays sit in the engine remains.
Depth & Profile
18m
Min depth
32m
Max depth
18–29m
Typical range
WreckReefRockPosidonia
Location
39.4796°N, 2.5413°E
Conditions & difficulty
Current
Negligible
Best season
Spring to autumn
EasyMin cert: Open Water
Open Water divers have the Clara at 18 m. The Regis Maris at 29 m and the plateau toward 32 m are Advanced depth, and one operator grades the site Open Water/Advanced.
Summary
Easy on the plateau and the Clara; the Regis Maris and the plateau's southern edge are deeper and more demanding.
Safety considerations
What can go wrong here, and what divers do about it. Conditions change - take the briefing from the operator on the day.
- Depth: The Regis Maris at 29 m and the plateau's southern edge toward 32 m are deeper than the Clara at 18 m.Agree the planned maximum and turn pressure with the guide before descending, and keep to the profile.
- Overhead: An abandoned fishing net lay on the posidonia beside the site until it was removed in 2017.Keep trim and buoyancy clear of the seagrass; carry a cutting tool.
Marine Life
Dive Centers
View allBook a guided dive at this site.
ZOEA Mallorca
PADI 5-Star IDC centre in Santa Ponsa since 1997, diving the Illes del Ponent marine reserve with day trips to Dragonera and Cabrera.
PADI7 services4 languages
West Coast Divers Mallorca
PADI 5-Star Dive Resort at Hotel Bonanza Playa in Illetes, SW Palma; 15+ years; private jetty, house reef, El Toro and Palma wreck diving; seasonal Apr-Oct.
PADI7 services
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Rules and permits
- Park fee: €5.24 per day (2026 tariff).
- Conduct: no touching, no feeding, no taking anything, no disturbing wildlife, no damage to the seabed.
Diving here needs certification and accident insurance; course dives and dives an authorised centre runs that give no certification need no card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Isla del Sec have the buoyed points and diver caps of El Toro?▾
No. The decree's annexes with buoyed points and a cap per point cover Toro and Malgrats only, and none exists for Sec. Collective dives in the reserve still have to be notified, and the decree lets the fisheries directorate add dive limits, so the operator confirms what applies on the day.
Is the deepest part of Isla del Sec within Advanced Open Water limits?▾
Operators give a maximum of 29, 30 or 32 m. The Regis Maris lies at 29 m, and the plateau drops to 32 m on its southern side, just past the 30 m of the Advanced Open Water guideline. The Clara at 18 m and the upper plateau suit Open Water divers, so agree the planned maximum with the guide before the dive.
References
- 1.Govern de les Illes Balears, July 5, 2025 — Decreto 26/2025, de 4 de julio (Reserva Marina de las islas del Ponent de Mallorca, el Toro, las Malgrats y el Sec), BOIB num. 86
- 2.Ultima Hora, July 5, 2017 — La Guardia Civil retira una red abandonada en el fondo marino de la Bahia de Palma
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