We took delivery of a Viking anchor last year for use on a 51' charter ketch that I operate in the summers. We had 75 charters last season and anchored on average twice per charter, usually in sand but sometimes in weeds and sometimes on top of hard rock. At the beginning of the season, the owner had kitted the boat out with a Fortress. After struggling with it on several occasions, I loaned the business my cruising anchor, a Rocna 25, and explained the huge leap in performance that we have experienced in recent years from new generation anchors. To prove the point further, I brought along my 1Kg Mantus M1 that I use for my 13' Whaler, and we anchored the charter yacht with it (a 51', 20-ton boat) in about 12-15 knots of breeze. It held beautifully. He was sold on new generation anchors.
Based largely on the early testing done by Panope, but also on pricing and the excellent customer service that we received from the company, we purchased a Viking 20. It's 5Kg lighter than my Rocna but physically much larger, with greater blade area and, like the Mantus, a steeper angle of attack and better penetration through weed and hard, crusty substrates. We only had it for the second half of the cruising season, but still anchored about 70-odd times with it and never had any issues. When the wind picked up to about 20 knots and a 70-foot motor cruiser started dragging towards us we brought them alongside and the Viking held both boats rock solid.
