Continuity mistake: At the end, when Darcy and Gulliver are about to kiss before being interrupted, Darcy is holding the report in her right hand. When Dan walks in, the report is in her left hand.
Continuity mistake: When Gulliver visits Darcy at night her red Luxo changes positions between shots.
Continuity mistake: Dan tells Gulliver he's now his boss, then lowers his left arm. From the opposite angle it's raised and holding his bag's strap.
Continuity mistake: After Gulliver plays Guitar Hero he points at himself with his right thumb. From the angle from behind it's his left thumb.
Continuity mistake: When Gulliver is talking to Darcy, his lanyard goes from being blank to having words between shots.
Answer: Obviously, it's just a deliberate error in a fantasy film that is full of plot-holes and errors. They certainly aren't anchor lines, as the ships are actively involved in a military engagement (surrounding Gulliver). Also, no navy flotilla of sailing ships would have lines hanging loose at the bow or stern, particularly going into a military engagement. Rather, the lines would be coiled and neatly stowed on deck. In this case, the deliberate error permits Gulliver to tow away the Blefuscudian ships in just a matter of moments (even though Blefuscu is over a half-mile away by water).
Charles Austin Miller