Know your Nautical terminology
Xone requested an entry on ship's bells. This is intimately tied to the system of watchkeeping.
Watch
A period of time during which a part of the crew is on duty. Changes of watch are marked by strokes on the ship's bell.
During the Age of Sail, a half-hour glass, was kept next to the bell and binnacle (stand for the compass). When the glass ran out, it would be turned and the bell struck the appropriate number of times. Since the ship's day began at noon, eight bells on the forenoon watch wasn't struck by the glass but when the Captain or officer of the watch declared noon as determined by his sextant. Noon is determined by when the sun reaches its highest altitude above the horizon and begins to descend.
At celestial or local apparent noon, the sun is due south. By comparison of the azimuth of the sun with the compass card, you could determine local magnetic declination.
The watches are:
Afternoon 1200-1600
First Dog 1600-1800 (bells 1-4)
Second Dog 1800-2000 (bells 5-8)
Evening 2000-0000
Middle or Mid 0000-0400
Morning 0400-0800
Forenoon 0800-1200
The bell is struck two at a time for the hour plus one if it is the half hour. Thus, 1230 would be one bell and 1600 would be eight bells. To hear eight bells, click here. (Turn it up)
Since the Nore mutiny in 1797, the Royal Navy has not rung 5 bells on the second dog watch as that was the signal to begin the mutiny.
The ship's bell is more that a seagoing cuckoo-clock. It is vital to the ship's safety when operating in a fog as it warns other ships of your presence. Additionally, areas prone to sea fog have bell bouys as an audible aid to navigation.
It is a naval tradition to baptize children of the crew using the ship's bell as a baptismal font and to engrave the name of the child and the date on the bell afterwards. I had the honor of attending one such baptism.
The ship's bell is of primary importance when salvaging a wreck as it proves the identity of the vessel.
WWG1WGA
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)