Timing of Duty Periods
Unlike civil clock bells, the strikes of the bell do not accord to the number of the hour. Instead, there are eight bells, one for each half-hour of a four-hour watch. In the age of sailing, watches were timed with a 30-minute hourglass. Bells would be struck every time the glass was turned, and in a pattern of pairs for easier counting, with any odd bells at the end of the sequence.
The classical system was:
| Number of bells | Bell pattern | Middle watch |
Morning watch |
Forenoon watch |
Afternoon watch |
First dog watch |
Last dog watch |
First watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One bell | . | 0:30 | 4:30 | 8:30 | 12:30 | 16:30 | 18:30† | 20:30 |
| Two bells | .. | 1:00 | 5:00 | 9:00 | 13:00 | 17:00 | 19:00† | 21:00 |
| Three bells | .. . | 1:30 | 5:30 | 9:30 | 13:30 | 17:30 | 19:30† | 21:30 |
| Four bells | .. .. | 2:00 | 6:00 | 10:00 | 14:00 | 18:00 | 22:00 | |
| Five bells | .. .. . | 2:30 | 6:30 | 10:30 | 14:30 | 18:30 | 22:30 | |
| Six bells | .. .. .. | 3:00 | 7:00 | 11:00 | 15:00 | 19:00 | 23:00 | |
| Seven bells | .. .. .. . | 3:30 | 7:30 | 11:30 | 15:30 | 19:30 | 23:30 | |
| Eight bells | .. .. .. .. | 4:00 | 8:00 | 12:00‡ | 16:00 | 20:00 | 0:00 |
† British usage after the Nore mutiny
‡ Before the introduction of time zones noon was not struck by the glass, but when the captain or officer of the deck confirmed local noon by the sun, using a sextant.
At midnight on New Year's Eve sixteen bells would be struck – eight bells for the old year and eight bells for the new.
Most of the crew of a ship would be divided up into between two and four groups called watches. Each watch would take its turn with the essential activities of manning the helm, navigating, trimming sails, and keeping a lookout.
The hours between 16:00 and 20:00 are so arranged because that watch (the "dog watch") was divided into two. The odd number of watches aimed to give each man a different watch each day. It also allows the entire crew of a vessel to eat an evening meal, the normal time being at 1700 with First Dog watchmen eating at 1800.
Some "ship's bell" clocks use a simpler system:
| Number of bells | Bell pattern | Hour (a.m. and p.m.) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One bell | . | 12:30 | 4:30 | 8:30 |
| Two bells | .. | 1:00 | 5:00 | 9:00 |
| Three bells | .. . | 1:30 | 5:30 | 9:30 |
| Four bells | .. .. | 2:00 | 6:00 | 10:00 |
| Five bells | .. .. . | 2:30 | 6:30 | 10:30 |
| Six bells | .. .. .. | 3:00 | 7:00 | 11:00 |
| Seven bells | .. .. .. . | 3:30 | 7:30 | 11:30 |
| Eight bells | .. .. .. .. | 4:00 | 8:00 | 12:00 |
The term eight bells can also be a way of saying that a sailor's watch is over, for instance, in his or her obituary. It is a nautical euphemism for finished.
Read more about this topic: Ship's Bell
Famous quotes containing the words timing, duty and/or periods:
“A great man always considers the timing before he acts.”
—Chinese proverb.
“[Women’s] duty is nothing else than the fulfilment [sic] of the whole moral law, the attainment of every human virtue.”
—Frances Power Cobbe (1822–1904)
“Those who weep for the happy periods which they encounter in history acknowledge what they want; not the alleviation but the silencing of misery.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)