"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
....and due to its weight, it can also reduce the angle between the rode
and
the sea/lake bed, which will help the anchor "bite" better. I've read
this,
but I'm not sure how important it really is.

Until I lost that anchor yesterday, I thought your aforementioned reason was
*the* most important reason for rode. Now I see both reasons (prevent
strafe and reduce the pulling angle) are equally important.