Terri's Blog – December 2009 Archive (1)

The practice of ringing bells at sea is as old as the bells themselves. On board ship it is important to observe some form of timekeeping to facilitate the smooth running of the ship. As clocks or watches were, at best, expensive and so out of the reach of the ordinary sailor, time was measured by using a sand glass.



It was left to one of the ship's boys or midshipmen to be responsible for turning the glass. The most common form came with a running time of half an hour. As periods of… Continue