An anchor is a heavy hook shaped piece of steel that is designed to lay on the bottom of the ocean attached to a vessel, ship, or boat by a heavy chain. The chain is designed to be 5-8 times longer than the depth the anchor would fall. For instance if the depth was 20 feet then the ships captain would release 100 or more feet of the anchor chain. The anchor would dig into the bottom of the ocean floor in many cases. The weight of the chain holds most ships in place but when the waves are high and the winds are blowing the anchor will be pulled across the ocean floor and will dig in and hold that ship in place.
