The Pass Christian Yacht Club is known as the birthplace of yachting in the South. The second oldest yacht club in the United States was organized in Pass Christian, Mississippi on July 21, 1849 by a group of Pass Christian and New Orleans yachtsmen. The new club was named the Southern Yacht Club and later became the Pass Christian Yacht Club when the Southern Yacht Club moved to a clubhouse in New Orleans. The Club was organized during the course of a meeting at the old Montgomery Hotel, located just West of the present City Hall. The organization of the Club followed that of the nation's oldest yacht club, New York Yacht Club, which had been organized five years earlier, in June of 1844.

Over the next century and one-half, the Club weathered two world wars, a recession, a succession of changes in location, and numerous hurricanes including direct hits by the infamous Hurricanes Camille and Katrina. The Pass Christian Yacht Club survived to rank among the premier yacht clubs of the Gulf Yachting Association, the only GYA club to have held and won in a single year; the women's championship (the Knost Trophy), the senior championship (the Lipton Trophy) and the junior championship ( the Junior Liptons).

The clubhouse is today located in the picturesque harbor at the foot of Pass Christian's Market Street, providing services and other amenities for over 800 members.