SHIPBOARD TIME
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS? YOU, DAMMIT!
“Good. I didn’t have to tell ya twice. Now grab a stool and feed the goat sumthin’ and pay attention. I’m only going to tell ya once.” The Bosun
For you pollywogs, the ship’s bell is not the dinner bell. It’s the sailor’s way of keeping time. Also, signaling other vessels when it’s foggy and they can’t see us, and sounding alarms. And, announcing the arrival of important people on the ship, like the commodore, the local mayor, governor, and so on.
Before ships had a fancy chronometer, that’s a clock to you cheese heads, they used an hourglass. When the glass emptied, they turned it over and tapped the bell. In other words, they tapped the bell every half hour during a watch.
Mid Watch Midnight-0400
Morning Watch 0400-0800
Forenoon Watch 0800-1200
Afternoon Watch 1200-1600
First Dog Watch 1600-1800
Second Dog Watch 1800-2000
Evening Watch 2000-Midnight
For each watch, the bell will be rung eight times. For instance:
8 bell strikes (in 4 pairs of 2) = The end of the Mid Watch and the beginning of the Morning Watch.
1 strike = “one bell of the Morning Warch”
2 strikes = “two bells of the Morning Watch)
And so on back to 8 bells for the next watch change. Except for the dog watches, which change at 4 bells.
Now, I know this lesson will take some time to sink through those thick skulls of yours. So, go up on deck and sit next to the ship’s bell and stare at it until Lieutenant O’Keefe is done looking at you. God bless’m. Now git!
Ringing of the bells on USS Constitution
Navy Boot Camp Watch Standing Training at Naval Station Great Lakes