Six Bells

"Six bells" and all is well . . . but what time is it? Are there twenty-four bells for the twenty-four hours in a day? How does all of that work? The United States Navy has been using bells to keep time and for other reasons for a long while.

Before timepieces were invented, affordable, or available, the crew of a ship at sea would use the old "sand running through an hourglass" method to keep track of time. The United States Navy actually used a "half-hourglass" since they kept track of time in half-hour increments.

Watches were stood in four-hour increments. A sailor was assigned to watch the "half-hourglass" so that he could turn it over each time the sand ran out. When he turned the half-hourglass, he would strike the bell to indicate that he was doing his job of keeping the time. The practice of striking the bell each time the half-hour glass was turned led to the present-day tradition of striking the ship's bell every half-hour (on the hour and the half-hour).

During a four-hour watch, the bell would be struck two, four, six and eight times "on the hour" for four hours and one, three, five and seven times on the half-hour between those four hours. Historically, when "eight bells" was struck, it marked the end of the four-hour watch. The US Navy continues the tradition of striking the ship's bell today, but not for the purpose of "keeping the time."

"Eight bells" does not necessarily mark the end of a watch in the modern Navy. When I was in the Navy in the late 60's and early 70's, the watches were generally four hours long, but did not change "on the hour." The watches were relieved at 0345, 0745, 1145, 1545, 1945, and 2345 hours (based on 24-hour time). Changing the watch fifteen minutes before the hour allowed for a more organized watch schedule. The hourly entries into the log and other hourly functions did not have to be attended to in the middle of changing the watch.

The "eight bell" system begins with one bell at 0030, 0430, 0830, 1230, 1630, and 2030 hours. It ends with eight bells at 0400, 0800, 1200, 1600, 2000, and 2400 hours. Before you can tell time by the striking of the bell, you must first be aware of which "four-hour" period you are in. I can tell you from experience, it does work.

As you might imagine, the ship's bell needs to be polished from time to time. For the most part, deck seamen under a Boatswain's Mate's direction perform such maintenance functions. However, in the case of the ship's bell, another tradition prevails. It is the responsibility of the ship's cook (or one of them) to polish the ship's bell. On many occasions, I have observed a cook in his "whites" polishing the bell.

This tradition started during the days when the galley fires were fueled early in the morning with wood and coal. The "Boatswain's Mate of the Watch" would light the galley fires so that the cook could "sleep in" a little longer. They returned the favor by polishing the ship's bell. The tradition continues today.

Until next time, I wish you clear skies, fair winds, and calm seas!