A pneumatic anchoring system for installation and anchoring of wick drains in a material to be consolidated such as soil, sand, ore or the like, comprising an excavator or crane having an elongate support mast and a tubular wick drain mandrel supported by the mast for downward penetration of the material/soil. The mandrel is capped at one end. A sled fixedly attached to the mandrel and slidable along the mast rides with the mandrel downward as the mandrel penetrates the material to be consolidated. The sled supports a compressed air storage tank, and the compressed air storage tank supplies compressed air through a venturi into the mandrel to jet compressed air therein. When the mandrel is at its deepest point, the operator releases a jet of air into the mandrel to disengage the wick drain anchor into the material to be consolidated, and then maintains a constant airflow rate into the mandrel during extraction to equalize the pore pressure of the drainage void and prevent collapse.