The original bruce is an great anchor, but you have to have it properly sized. It always sets, it always resets after a
wind change and if properly sized it really digs down deep in a blow. I think most folks that complain about them had under sized bruce's. Your bruce sounds small for the
boat. I also carry a very large
CQR for the really soft bottoms where a plow will dig in deep. I seldom use the
CQR.
In the easter carib i've never had a bruce, we always had CQRs and they worked very well in the
coral sand. Just have to make sure you are in the sand and not on a
grass patch!