But it's an anchor. That's what it does. That's its job

"Face palm"

It is an anchor with a cut rope. So either it can only sink or they cut the one thing that was pulling them down.

"Potentially toxic elements in tattoo ink can leech, permanently, into your lymph nodes and cause some nasty side effects, according to new research from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility." a men's fitness.com

The anchor is supposed to sink
If it doesn't, it's useless
Is that what you're inspired to be? Totally useless?

Stop the boat from drifting away an sinking? Kind of a stretch. This is stupid.

Okay, I'll play devil's advocate... what if it's meant to be ironic?

I think it's supposed to symbolize that anchors are supposed to sink, but you as a person can refuse to be pulled down by whatever 'anchor' is pulling on you.