Difference between revisions of "Ship's Bells"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
(A little bit of research - article rewrite.) |
(+ img; glossary entry = encyclopedic entry if given chance to sink or swim) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| + | [[Image:Bell.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Ringing the ship's bell]] | ||
A '''Ship's bells''' are used to indicate time onboard ship. One bell sounds for each half hour. Bells are rung in pairs to make it easier to count.<ref>http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/shipbee.htm</ref> Thus, for a watch starting at 12:00, one bell means 12:30, two bells mean 1:00, two bells pause 1 bell means 1:30, and so on until 4:00 ("eight bells"). This cycle starts again for the next watch. | A '''Ship's bells''' are used to indicate time onboard ship. One bell sounds for each half hour. Bells are rung in pairs to make it easier to count.<ref>http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/shipbee.htm</ref> Thus, for a watch starting at 12:00, one bell means 12:30, two bells mean 1:00, two bells pause 1 bell means 1:30, and so on until 4:00 ("eight bells"). This cycle starts again for the next watch. | ||
Revision as of 21:30, July 12, 2007
A Ship's bells are used to indicate time onboard ship. One bell sounds for each half hour. Bells are rung in pairs to make it easier to count.[1] Thus, for a watch starting at 12:00, one bell means 12:30, two bells mean 1:00, two bells pause 1 bell means 1:30, and so on until 4:00 ("eight bells"). This cycle starts again for the next watch.
The use of 30 minutes as the interval between bells originates from the use of a half hour glass to keep time. Each half hour, the glass would be flipped and the appropriate count of the bell would be rung.[2]
| Number of bells | Hour | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |