Ship's Bell

Bells have a centuries-long tradition of varied use in the navies and merchant fleets of the world. Signaling, keeping time, and sounding alarms are important in a ship's routine and readiness. Their functional and ceremonial uses have made them a symbol of considerable significance to the United States Navy.

Origins

Bells cast from metal were first developed in the Bronze Age, achieving a particularly high level of sophistication in China. During the European Middle Ages, they were used by Christians to signal divine services and make special announcements. Christian and Buddhist monasteries historically used them to regulate daily activity, conceptually similar to later timekeeping in the U.S. Navy. The Catholics consider bells a representation of the voice of God and of paradise.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the shipboard bell was on the British ship Grace Dieu about 1485. Some ten years later an inventory of the English ship Regent reveals that this ship carried two "wache bells".

Timekeeping

Before the advent of the chronometer time at sea was measured by the trickle of sand through a half - hour glass. One of the ship's boys had the duty of watching the glass and turning it when the sand had run out. When he turned the glass, he struck the bell as a signal that he had performed this vital function. From this ringing of the bell as the glass was turned evolved the tradition of striking the bell once at the end of the first half hour of a four hour watch, twice after the first hour, etc., until eight bells marked the end of the four hour watch. The process was repeated for the succeeding watches. This age-old practice of sounding the bell on the hour and half hour has its place in the nuclear and missile oriented United States Navy at the dawn of the Twenty-First Century, regulating daily routine, just as it did on our historic vessels under sail in the late Eighteenth Century.

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The Ship's Bell Code
4:00	8:00	12:00	8 Bells
4:30	8:30	12:30	1 Bell
5:00	9:00	1:00	2 Bells
5:30	9:30	1:30	3 Bells
6:00	10:00	2:00	4 Bells
6:30	10:30	2:30	5 Bells
7:00	11:00	3:00	6 Bells
7:30	11:30	3:30	7 Bells

Safety and Communication

The sounding of a ship's bell found a natural application as a warning signal to other vessels in poor visibility and fog. In 1676 one Henry Teonage serving as a chaplain in the British Mediterranean Fleet recorded , "so great a fog that we were fain to ring our bells, beat drums, and fire muskets often to keep us from falling foul one upon another". Ringing a ship's bell in fog became customary. In 1858, British Naval Regulations made it mandatory in that function. Today, maritime law requires all ships to carry an efficient bell.

American ships of the Revolutionary War period and our early national years adopted many of the practices and traditions of the British Royal Navy, including the use of bells. In 1798, Paul Revere cast a bell weighing 242 pounds for the frigate Constitution, also known today by its nickname "Old Ironsides".

It is of interest to note that the use of a ship's bell contributed to the richest single prize captured by the American Navy during the War of Independence. While a Continental Squadron under Commodore Whipple lay-to, wrapped in Newfoundland fog in a July morning in 1779, the sound of ships' bells and an occasional signal gun could be heard a short distance off. When the fog lifted the Americans discovered that they had fallen in with the richly-laden enemy Jamaica Fleet. Ten ships were captured as prizes, which - together with their cargo - were valued at more than a million dollars.

Alarms

The bell is an essential link in a ship's emergency alarm system. In the event of a fire, the bell is rung rapidly for at least five seconds, followed by one, two or three rings to indicate the location of a fire - Forward, amidships, or aft respectively.

Navy Ceremonies and Events

The bell is used to signal the presence of important persons. When the ship's captain, a flag officer, or other important person arrives or departs, watch standers make an announcement to the ship and ring the bell. This tradition extends to major naval command transitions, often held aboard vessels associated with the command.

Bells in religious ceremonies

The bell's connection to religious origins continues. Originating in the British Royal Navy, it is a custom to baptize a child under the ship's bell; sometimes the bell is used as a christening bowl, filled with water for the ceremony. Once the baptism is completed, the child's name may be inscribed inside the bell. The bell remains with the ship while in service and with the Department of the Navy after decommissioning. In this way, an invisible tie is created between the country, the ship and its citizens.

Who shines the ship's bell 

An old Navy tradition has it that the ship's cook shines the ship's bell and the ship's bugler shines the ship's whistle. This tradition may still be observed in some of the ships of the modern Navy. However, in normal practice, the ship's bell is maintained by a man of the ships' division charged with the upkeep of that part of the ship where the bell is located. 

Calculating Speed of Ship

The word knot as a unit of speed has an interesting beginning. The first method of calculating the velocity of a ship was by Dutchman's log. A chip of wood thrown from the fore-castle was timed as it passed down the side of the ship; the calculation of speed was based on the length of time the chip took to travel between the forward and after marks, since distance divided by time equals speed.

But it was from a later type, the hand log, first used in the 16th century, that the word knot develops. A triangular piece of wood called a log-ship is weighted at the bottom, and slung by means of a three-legged rope crows-foot, one leg of which is secured to the log-ship with a removable wooden plug, in such a way as to present resistance to the water when towed astern of a ship on a log-line. This plaited line of about l50 fathoms is marked every ten fathoms. In the days of sail the hand log was streamed once an hour by the midshipman-of-the-watch and the boatswain's mate.

The latter rigged the log with a plug in securely enough to remain in against the water pressure to be expected, and streamed it astern, As the log-line slipped through his fingers, at the first knot that passed after the log was clear of the wake, the boatswain's mate called out “turn” and the midshipman inverted his hour-glass. When each subsequent knot passed the boatswain's mate sang out its number. As the last of the sand fell into the bottom half of the glass the midshipman gave the order “check”; the boatswain's mate stopped letting the line run out, noting the number of the knot nearest his hand. Comparing the number of the knot against the time on a chart gave the speed of the ship. By jerking the log-line the plug was removed and the log recovered.

Thus it was that knots in a line became associated with nautical miles per hour. Thus you will understand from this description that the land-lubber’s ‘knots per hour’ is meaningless.

Dog watch

There are various ideas about this common term: a corruption of docked or dodge perhaps. The name probably comes for DODGE WATCH: by making in this way a total of seven watches to the day, men would be enabled not to keep the same watch each day. A dog watch being two hours long while all other watches are of four hours' duration gives rise to the common naval expression of derision to a junior: "You've only been in the Navy a dog watch". In the Royal Navy, the two Dog Watches are the "First" and the "Last" not the "First" and the "Second".

A dogwatch at sea is the period between 4 and 6 p.m, the first dogwatch, or the period between 6 and 8 p.m., the second dog watch. The watches aboard ships are:

Noon to 4:00 p.m. Afternoon watch
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. First dogwatch
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Second dogwatch
8:00 p.m. to midnight 1st night watch
Midnight to 4:00 a.m. Middle watch or mid watch
4:00 to 8:00 a.m. Morning watch
8:00 a.m. to noon Forenoon watch

The dogwatches are only two hours each so the same Sailors aren't always on duty at the same time each afternoon. Some experts say dogwatch is a corruption of dodge watch and others associate dogwatch with the fitful sleep of Sailors called dog sleep, because it is a stressful watch. But no one really knows the origin of this term, which was in use at least back to 1700.

sick bay

Sick berth, later Sick Bay was introduced in the Mediterranean Fleet in l798 by Lord St. Vincent. When he became First Sea Lord in 1801 he caused sick berths to be fitted in all ships. At that time these were usually below the forecastle. Now they are located amidships because there is less motion than either forward or aft.

Dutchman's pendant and Irish pendant

These two are included only to differentiate, as many seamen use them synonymously. Dutchman's pendant refers to a gash rope's end not secured in a seamanlike manner - a dig at the Dutch.

The Irish pendant refers to the frays and tatters of bunting that develop in the fly of an ensign or flag that is exposed to strong winds for any length of time. The reference is to untidiness born of a carefree nature in. the Irish.

Crowsnest

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The foremast lookout position now replaces a cage in which the Norsemen carried ravens as an early type of direction finder. When out of sight of land a bird would be released, and as it headed for the nearest land the ship would follow the dir­ection of its flight.