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 duty were split up into four-hour watches, it quickly became the custom to sound the ship's bell every time the sand glass was turned.
In order to tell the time from the bell, noon, 4pm, 8pm, midnight, etc. were marked by the ringing of eight bells. Every half hour thereafter was marked by the ringing of one bell, with an additional ring for each subsequent half hour. Therefore 12:30 was marked with one bell, 1 o'clock by two rings, and so on, until eight bells were sounded after the four-hour period. Are you confused yet?
It was also custom that on the change of watch, when eight bells were sounded, and of course provided everything was in order, to shout, "Eight bells and all is well!"
Once a year, sixteen bells were rung to mark the end of an old year and the beginning of a new. Usually the oldest person on board was given the task of ringing out the old while the youngest person on board was allowed to ring in the new.
From With a Pinch of Salt: A collection of nautical expressions and other stories by Captain Nick Bates, Sheridan House 2006
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