
Compass and bell, SV Tenacious
Before the advent of accurate time pieces, time on a ship was regulated by the bell and a system of watches lasting either four or two hours. When the sand had run through a 30-minute “hour glass”, the glass was turned to start again and the bell was struck. In a four-hour watch, the bell would be struck from one to eight times, an increase of one strike every 30 minutes and performed in sets of two. So, for example, if you heard two sets of quick strikes followed by a single strike, you would know it was “five bells” in whatever the watch was (forenoon, morning, etc). Of course, this entire timekeeping process depended on an accurate glass and attention to detail!
The bell in this photo is from SV Tenacious, on which I’ve sailed many times. You can see the intricate rope pull hanging from the bell. The original captain liked to have the bell rung and it was the watch leader’s responsibility to see that it was done. I would start checking my watch every 15 seconds or so from five minutes before the time, mentally going over the number of strikes required. Once I forgot, and gradually was aware that the captain was quietly standing at the corner of the chart house, just gazing at me. Oh dear!
I don’t know if I could cope with the tension but it’s a lovely shot. 🙂 :0
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Luckily for you (should you ever sail on Tenacious!), that captain retired years ago and I haven’t heard the bell since.
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Haha… I am in agreement with Jo. I think I would get very confused!
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You can make the tea instead, how’s that?
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Erm… I’m not much of a tea maker but I can give it a go!
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Tea bag in mug, add hot water, bring to waiting members of your watch. I have faith you can manage that!
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tea bags?!!! I better come and join you both with a teapot and loose tea 🙂
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Just remember — “one hand for you, one hand for the ship”. Don’t want all that carefully crafted tea going over the side!
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Interesting, and a lovely timesquare image too
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Fabulous #timesquare, and learnt something too . . . . just wish WordPress pingbacks were as timely as this timepiece!!
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You have so many pingbacks to deal with I can’t imagine how you manage to keep track!
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Keeps me on my toes!!
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