How does a ships clock chime for the hours?
Created in order to announce the watches for sailors in four-hour increments, a ship’s clock chimes in a repeated sequence every four hours over a 24-hour period, enabling a sailor to be able to tell the time–as well as the progress in his shift–simply by listening to the bells.Bell SequenceThe ringing sequence of a ship’s bell begins at 12:30 p.m. with one bell, and it increases by one additional bell for every half-hour increment until eight bells is reached. The sequence then starts all over again and continues every four hours around the clock.An Ancient TraditionThe ship’s clock’s bell patterns date back centuries to early sailors, who worked in shifts or “watches” of four-hour increments. Originally, the ship’s helmsman would use an hourglass to signal the passage of time by striking one bell for every half hour until eight bells was reached. At that point, listening sailors would know that their shift was over, and the chime signaled that a new one was about to begin.Chiming t
