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The Staande Mast Route (Dutch for Standing Mast Route) enables yachts with their masts up to transit nearly 1,000 kms of inland waterways in the Netherlands leading from Vlissingen close to the Belgian border as far as Delfzijl near the border with Germany. Although often described as a single route, parts of it can in fact be transited via several alternative routes. Authorities responsible for the various sections of the Staande Mast Route co-ordinate bridge and lock opening times to provide smooth passage for users, which include numerous commercial vessels as well as leisure craft - or 'sport boats' as they are known in the Netherlands. Several hundred yachts (both sail and motor) use the Route each year as an alternative to braving the exposed west and north coasts of the Netherlands, where ports of refuge are not plentiful. This guide to the Route is produced and edited by the European Inland Waterways Section (EIWS) of the Cruising Association (CA) and relies on regular updates from its members, many of whom cruise all or parts of the Route each year. It also includes a 25 per cent discount offer on first year's CA membership to purchasers joining online during the year. Members have access to the CA's proprietary CAptain's Mate app, enabling them to access the most up-to-date information on routes and moorings locations. It also includes a special code providing a 25% discount on a PDF version of the guide from the CA's Shopify online store at https://cruising-association-eiws.myshopify.com throughout 2024.
About the author
Gordon Knight spent 25 years in the public relations industry, latterly as joint founder and managing director of a top 10 UK PR company (floated in 1987, sold in 1991), then as an independent issues management consultant 'until it got in the way of sailing'. A CA member since 2013, Gordon has spent 40 years cruising under sail, mostly in his Oyster 435 ketch Athene of Lymington in Northern European waters and throughout the Mediterranean. During that time he has been an active administrator on the World Cruising Wiki, largely creating several Mediterranean sections as well as contributing to CA Cruising Reports. In 2015 he purchased a Nowee 38, Cheyenne of Lymington, and now spends much of the year cruising the inland waterways of France and Belgium with his wife Soophy. He is a member of the CA's European Inland Waterways Section (EIWS) and writes or edits all the Section's publications. He is also author of 16 full-colour photo guides to the French waterways.
