Its purpose is to support the weight of the anchor and keep the anchor secure and outboard of the hull to avoid damaging the hull planking.

When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to shore.

And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

Writing is the anchor I use to keep me from drowning inside myself . This is how 20 year old Dalia al Najjar presents her blog, a diary of life in Gaza.

At the end of lunch, they untie the anchor, they set off through the Baths of Caracalla and over the walls of the city and then an abandoned gatehouse and decide to take one more look at the Pyramid of Cestius, which has this lightning rod on top.

Unfortunately for her, the anchor line gets tangled around the feet of some Boy Scouts who are visiting the Pantheon, and they are immediately yanked out and given an extraordinary but terrifying tour of some of the domes of Rome, which would, from their point of view, naturally be hanging upside down.