A marine standoff that maintains a watercraft at a fixed distance from a dock or wharf. The marine standoff may be used as a portable unit and stored on board the watercraft or may be used as a fixed unit and left permanently attached to a fixed mooring point. A preferred embodiment includes an attaching hook/clip combination on one end of the marine standoff and an elastomer tip at the other end of the marine standoff through which a line is passed through at the elastomer tip end. A stainless steel cable is attached to the safety clip portion of the hook, said cable being housed within the interior chamber of the marine standoff. The cable end which is remote from the hook is connected to an exterior pull ring which allows the remote release of the safety clip for easy removal of the standoff from a docking device such as a cleat or ring.