Yacht club members, bound for Alaska from British Columbia, Washington state, or Oregon, needn’t bother checking their club’s reciprocal moorage list for Ketchikan Yacht Club. According to the club, their “remote location” precludes establishing reciprocal relationships with other clubs. But the good news? Boaters arriving in Ketchikan from other locales are welcome to use any vacant slips, whether or not they are members of a yacht club at their home ports. And that “remote location” is the very reason so many summer cruisers find their way to Ketchikan each year.
Ketchikan Yacht Club is in Thomas Basin at the southern end of the cruise ship docks. The club docks are near the mouth of Ketchikan Creek and remarkably close to the historic Creek Street district. Perhaps the premiere tourist attraction in Ketchikan, Creek Street consists of colorful, planked heritage buildings, fronted by timber boardwalks winding along both sides of Ketchikan Creek. These structures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were originally nearly all bars and brothels, which were intended to seriously lighten the pockets of local miners, lumberjacks, and fishermen coming to Ketchikan to “blow off some steam.”
The Ketchikan Harbor Department floats are in Thomas Basin as well, and the rates are about the same as the Ketchikan Yacht Club. There are some advantages to taking a slip at the yacht club, should one be available.
Inside the breakwater at Thomas Basin, look for Float 2. Ketchikan Yacht Club members own all the slips on this float. If there’s an empty slip of suitable size for your boat, check at the bull rail for a notice board listing the date on which the slip owner intends to return to their slip. If it isn’t today’s date and you can be gone on the return date, you should be free to tie up to the slip.
The clubhouse is located at the head of Float 2. If there is nobody there, then honor-system payment envelopes and check-in instructions are available for use. The Ketchikan Yacht Club Port Captain will come by your boat sometime during the day to assist you and furnish visiting boaters with a means to access the clubhouse. Boaters will find showers, stoves, and refrigerators, inside dining, and picnic areas available for their use while moored at Ketchikan Yacht Club.
Daily rates are $60/day for vessels moored on Float 2. Electrical and internet connections are available for an additional fee.
The Ketchikan Yacht Club does not accept reservations. Boaters arriving to find no space available on Float 2 should radio the Ketchikan Harbor Department on VHF 16 to get a slip assignment elsewhere.
The showers and other facilities at Ketchikan Yacht Club are available to boaters moored elsewhere at a rate of $20 per person, per day. Every other Friday night between the end of May and the end of August, Ketchikan Yacht Club hosts a “Burger Night” at the clubhouse. Visiting boaters are welcome to join in the festivities.
Ketchikan represents the northern turn point for many recreational cruisers arriving in Alaska. At this mid-point of a summer adventure cruise, a few days of rest and relaxation in a fixed location might be understandably attractive. The Ketchikan Yacht Club is an attractive possibility when resting and refitting in Ketchikan.
Yacht Club at a Glance
Founded: 1933
Location: Float 2, Thomas Basin, Ketchikan, AK
Commodore: Steve Rydeen
Rear Commodore: Greg Thomas
Dues: $100 application fee; $150 for individuals or $200 for family annual dues
More information is available at https://ketchikanyachtclub.com
