At last I´ve made it to A Coruna sailing! Often I´ve read about this Galician coastal town but somehow never managed to berth here. A Coruna is the biggest City in North-Western Galicia, which is the upper “corner” of the Iberian Peninsula. When transiting the Bay of Biscay, A Coruna may be one stopover for your, no matter if you go North or down South. Especially when the infamous cape effect around the Cape of Finisterre is “on” and a strong (very strong!) wind will blow in your face (either Northerly or Southerly), it may be wise to wait for a advantageous weather window before crossing the Biscay or rounding the Finisterre.
Apart from Ferrol, Sada (the biggest one) or Muxia, A Coruna is the only safe harbor in this area, so it may be wise that you keep an eye on weather and your Plan-B if things start to deteriorate to have a fallback safe haven – this area is known for Centuries for its notoriously fast weather changes and treacherous conditions. Not for nothing is it called “Costa da Muerte” – “Coats of Death”. But it would be a shame to just look at Galicia from a perspective of being harbors of refuge!
Your choice: Marina Real or Marina Coruna?
The Galician coast is a true gem. Not so much frequented by mass tourism, you will find a very rugged, beautiful, raw and honest travel area. Nature is breathtaking with so many Rias to discover, a few – but breathtakingly beautiful – small and hidden sand beaches where you may drop an anchor (if conditions permit). Not mentioning the food with a richness in fish and seafood. People are open and downright friendly, especially open towards sailors since seafaring is a deep-rooted part of Galician culture. So, maybe you consider a stopover here just for recreation? It is worth it!
Speaking of A Coruna (some call it La Coruna or just Coruna), you have the choice between two harbors. Marina Coruna is just behind the large concrete breakwater, kind of “open” to swell and especially a southerly wind and Marina Real, which is embedded and very (!) secured against all wind directions into the Old Town. By chance, as we approached, we had secured a berth in Marina Real which is the harbor I will write about here in this text. Not having seen Marina Coruna, I´d suggest you first check if you can go to Marina Real as well – it is really most picturesque, short way to the city and overall a great place to be.
Berthing at Marina Real de la Coruna
I suggest calling the harbor office via cell phone well in advance when you are approaching. The harbor offers just over 350 berths of which most are occupied by members of the Yacht Club, but there are plenty of gest berths available. In high season reservation may be clever. We arrived well deep into the night and were welcomed by a Marinero who signaled where to go and helped to tie up the boat. Friendly, warm and welcoming.
Boats sized from 8 to 30 meters can enter the harbor, maximum draft is 15 meters, so don´t worry about your keel. Mooring is done on catways since tidal differences are huge here. When approaching, you pass by the large concrete marine traffic control tower which is located on the breakwater and looks like a modern day airport tower. Further inwards, you pass the second marina on port side and the Castello de Santo Anton. Feeling a bit strange as the water promenade comes nearer and nearer, you will notice the narrow entrance with red and green lights to your right hand side. Since there aren´t any noticeable currents nor high winds, entering won´t be a problem: Watch out for anglers to not get entangled with their fishing lines.
Demurrage in A Coruna
Spain is also sailor´s heaven for comparatively low prices for European harbors. I was surprised by the low fares in A Coruna. For our 60-feet luxury yacht the daily demurrage was just 85 Euros, together with electricity fee of 5 Euros per day, that´s a really fair and low price. Most of us will have smaller boats, prices start at 15 Euros per day for boats up to 8 meters, 21 Euros for a 10 meter boat and 31 resp. 37 Euros for yachts of 12 to 16 meters. Compared to demurrage pricing in the Baltic Sea for example, this is a true bargain!
For crews deciding to stay longer and maybe use A Coruna as a base also for excursions inland (for example to nearby Santiago de Compostella and El Camino) fares go down even more. Monthly demurrage rates start at 190 Euros for the 8 m-class and range from 270 to 570 for 10, 12 and 15 m boats. Very attractive I shall say – and you will see reading the rest of this article that it´s really worth it!
Sailor´s heaven: Marina Real club house amenities
The cool thing is the club house. The Real Club Nautico de La Coruna was founded back in 1927, so there is plenty of history to this place. The venerable building is a very impressively built representative three story club house that will take your breath away: Certainly not the America´s Club atmosphere of New York City´s Yacht Club house in Manhattan, but unlike in the Big Apple, as a fellow sailor with a berth, these doors will open for you.
The entrance is grandiose and makes you stand with open jar for a while. The Yacht Club of La Coruna has apparently won a lot of regattas, has had and certainly still as some fine club members and maybe one or more celebrities of sailing. I don´t now if it was for our nice asking for permission or if this is really open for all who have a berth here, but the Concierge welcomed us warmly and opened the venue for us.
You can imagine and might know from your own experience how absolutely uncomparably pleasant the simple joy of a hot warm long shower is to a body that had been subject to violent shaking, seasickness, cold and wet clothing is. Those showers and WC rooms are not only clean (which in itself would be a nice thing), but they are spacious, welcoming and tasteful. Beige marble, perfectly clean mirrors. Everything works, everything (seems to be) included. Awesome!
The club also offers a fully stacked gym with all sorts of treadmills, trainers and equipment – all with a perfect view over the south basin of the marina. In our case, we were all too exhausted to use them but I can imagine that if you stay here for a week or more, this is an awesome place to heat up your body and muscles, enjoy a fantastic view and later on a refreshing, cleansing shower.
Behind the showers the club also has a hot bathtub and Jacuzzi, but this was really the spot where I was a bit puzzled: Is this really the public bathroom service of this marina or are we tolerated strangers and this is not the normal place for any ordinary sailor coming here? If the latter is the case, please forgive me this misleading text – on the other hand, we told them we were just bypassers and they graciously opened their doors for us, so, maybe they´ll do also for you?
In any case, this is it. Getting clean, warmed up and brought back to “civilization mode” here is wonderful. Even if we only stayed here for less than 12 hours, it was absolutely worth it: A secure place for the boat, just 5 minutes into the city for a big-ass traditional Spanish breakfast with Tostada, ham and eggs, fresh orange juice and a wonderfully strong coffee … truly, sailor´s heaven!
My assessment of Marina Real in A Coruna
For me A Coruna is now officially added to the list “must return – must bring more time”. As I said in my cruise reports, Galicia is a wonderful spot to visit, barren, green, lush, wild and romantic. Lots of wind, great friendly and honest people, very low tourism. Marina Real of A Coruna is one fine example of this welcoming culture and a hidden gem. Not having seen the other harbor you could go to, Marina Real will always be my first choice should I return here – even if the gorgeous club house is restricted and off limits.
I seldom give 10 out of 10 points, but here everything is just right. Great price and value, absolutely spot-on service (starting with being available on the phone at 2 a.m. in the morning, a helping hand whilst berthing on the pier side, very, very (!) friendly harbormaster) and this wonderful club house. It´s a shame we couldn´t stay longer, but if I´ll have the chance to come back one day, A Coruna will most definitely be on that list, promised!
Overall rating for Marina Real A Coruna is 10 out of 10 points
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Just “around the corner”: Marina Muxia
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