The static soft rail launch and recovery system provides an anchor or piling located in a body of water away from the shoreline. The anchor remains at a fixed point under water, while being attached to cables having their opposite ends affixed on land to tension the cables. The cables become like rails due to static tension between the two fixed points. The watercraft is placed on a sling carriage that is slidably mounted on the cables and capable of sliding down the cables to launch the watercraft into the water. The watercraft is recovered by a winch cable tied to the watercraft and connected to a recovery winch. The system may be modified to use a single tow cable, attached to an anchor or piling. The system is used to launch watercraft of various sizes, and other payloads, and may be deployed for military, commercial, or emergency missions.