Buenos Aires - Docking

Both Yacht Club Argentino and Yacht Club Puerto Madero have marinas most conveniently located to visit the Argentinian capital. Visitors are offered one week's free docking at YC Argentina, with the first night free at YC Puerto Madero.  Note, if you use the one week free offer at the headquarters of the city, you cannot use it at the YC headquarters north or Mar Del Plata.

The bridge to Puerto Madero opens every two hours, from 07:00 to 23:00, for entering and exiting boats, if requested at least 30 minutes in advance.  The request can be made to marina personnel before exiting, or via VHF Channel 71 when returning.  All yachts departing Puerto Madero must sign a log book at the marina office (on the dock), stating where you are going.  This rule is for all boats, whether local or foreign flagged.

Note:  It is not advisable to use your watermaker in Río de La Plata. There is too much sediment here and the river algae can cause serious damage.

The most welcoming Club for foreign boats is Club de Veleros Barlovento.  It offers a lot of services and is located in the middle of a nautical area, so is ideal for parts and labour. It does require a local insurance policy but is cheaper than all the other clubs or marinas.

There are good facilities available and also a good range of marine supplies in Buenos Aires.

Catamaran owners may find beam an issue in the marinas here.  It's worth contacting them in advance to check options.

Yacht Club Argentino San Fernando has excellent facilities, however, it is a private club and limited to visitors, plus it is 32 km (20 miles) up-river from the capital.  There is a boatyard offering an excellent range of services and other marinas in this same area.

North Buenos Aires has a large and very friendly sailing community. Club Nautico San Isidro offers a free marina, travelift and services for fibreglass, steel and wooden boats.  Club Nautico Sudeste no longer receives foreign boats.

The trip to Rio Lujan, where the majority of the yachts are kept, can be achieved in two ways: via the canal, Emilio Mitre then canals Honda leading to canal de Vinculacion which ends at Rio Lujan; or the coastal passage. This can be very shallow depending on tides, wind and the river.

In the area San Isidro, San Martine and San Fernando there are dozens of clubs and thousands of boats and then there is the Tigre area as well.  Here it is possible to organize a berth by calling into each club as you move up the river or best anchor on the Island side of the channel and take the dinghy, the road system is such that it is very complex to do this by road.

Last updated:  December 2016.