Anchor Jensen

Anchor was an artist, designer, intuitive genius, master shipwright, builder and healer of thousands of boats. Boats that went to war, boats that went to work, boats that broke world records, and won Seattle’s heart and the Gold Cup 5 times. That’s a lot to say about a man, but someone had to say it, because he never would. A friend of Anchors told me when I asked him, "what was he like as a child"? His response was " the same as he is today, a man of few words, always thinking always working".

Anchor was born July 25, 1918, in Victoria British Columbia. His father Antonius (Tony) Jensen was a musician who loved boat building, his mother the beautiful and industrious daughter of a well respected Victoria doctor. Anchor, the second of two children, couldn’t have been given a more appropriate name. He lived up to it every day. I realized today as I was writing this, that as I look back over his life I don’t think he has ever been away from the water or a boat for more then a couple of days in his entire life. The day he was born his dad was working on the Tony Boy in the backyard of their home, When they left Victoria when Anchor was seven they didn’t drive or take a train, they cruised down Puget Sound, on the Tony Boy.

When they reached Seattle, Anchor’s Family didn’t move into a house they lived aboard the boat, next to the Queen City Yacht club on Portage Bay where Tony and Bessie had purchased property to build a boat yard. When Anchor started Grammar School at Seward and then Laurelhurst he commuted by boat and foot. When it came time to move off the Tony Boy, the family didn’t bother to move to dry land, Tony had built them an apartment on the second floor of the first building of the Jensen boat yard, established in 1927, which was located out over the water, with a ramp leading up to dry land. When Anchor enlisted for WWII he graduated with honors at the top of his class at Great Lakes Naval Training Center and served with honor in the Navy aboard the Battleship Iowa and the USS Belleau Wood. When he married Ann Katheryn Clarke in September 1950, they went to Hawaii, God knows, they could have flown, but not Anchor they had to take a cruise ship the Lauraleane.

Anchor spent his entire life immersed in learning about boats and how they perform on water. Even yesterday when he became seriously ill he was at the boat yard. The same yard he has lived and worked at all his life. In addition to being co-designer and builder of Slo-mo-shun IV and V which set World Speed Records in 1950 and 1952 he also managed and owned the Jensen Motor Boat Company for the last 63 years. During this time they built hundreds of classic wooden custom boats and rebuilt thousands of others. Anchor was a life long member of the Mountaineers, a past member of the Seattle and Corinthian Yacht Clubs, member of the APBA and many other organizations. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his life long contribution , not only for his pioneering innovations in the world of Hydroplanes but also for his commitment and contributions to the northwest boat building community. Anchor had the perfect name and made living up to it a matter of personal pride. He will be remembered worldwide for his creations the Slo-mo-shun IV and Slo-mo-shun V.