Chart No. 1 · J 9.1

R — Rock, rocky

Seabed

The italic letter R means bare rock — poor, snaggy holding; avoid anchoring if you can.

What it means
An italic 'R' (or 'rky' for rocky) marks a rock seabed: hard bottom with little or no sediment cover.
Why it matters
On rock an anchor either skates or jams — neither is good. If you must anchor, use a trip line so you can pull the anchor out backwards when it snags.
Open the official NOAA reference