The Club Bar Clock has now been restored and is in pride of place in the Member’s Bar. The Commodore and Officers of the Club are very grateful for the generous donation from a long standing member, who remembers the clock from as far back as Torquay Corinthian Sailing Club days.
Ship’s Bells Explained
Ship’s bells are a system to indicate the hour by means of bells. This system is widely used aboard ships to regulate the sailor’s duty-watches.
Unlike civil clock bells, the strikes of the bell do not accord to the number of the hour. Instead, there are eight bells, one for each half-hour of a four-hour watch. Bells would be struck every half-hour, and i a pattern of pairs for easier counting, with any off bells at the end of the sequence.
The classical system was:
| Number of Bells | Middle watch | Morning watch | Forenoon watch | Afternoon watch | First dog watch | Last dog watch | First watch |
| One Bell | 0:30 | 4:30 | 8:30 | 12:30 | 16:30 | 18:30 | 20:30 |
| Two Bells | 1:00 | 5:00 | 9:00 | 13:00 | 17:00 | 19:00 | 21:00 |
| Three Bells | 1:30 | 5:30 | 9:30 | 13:30 | 17:30 | 19:30 | 21:30 |
| Four Bells | 2:00 | 6:00 | 10:00 | 14:00 | 18:00 | 22:00 | |
| Five Bells | 2:30 | 6:30 | 10:30 | 14:30 | 22:30 | ||
| Six Bells | 3:00 | 7:00 | 11:00 | 15:00 | 23:00 | ||
| Seven Bells | 3:30 | 7:30 | 11:30 | 15:30 | 23:30 | ||
| Eight Bells | 4:00 | 8:00 | 12:00 | 16:00 | 20:00 | 0:00 |
Most of the crew of the ship would be divided up into between two and four groups called watched. Each watch would take its turn with the essential activities of manning the helm, navigating, trimming sailing, and keeping a lookout.
The hours between 16:00 and 20:00 are so arranged because that watch (the “dog watch”, which is curtailed) was divided into two. The odd numbers of watched aimed to give each man a different watch each day.
Some “ship’s bell” clocks use a simpler system:
| Number of Bells | Hour (a.m and p.m) | ||
| One Bell | 12:30 | 4:30 | 8:30 |
| Two Bells | 1:00 | 5:00 | 9:00 |
| Three Bells | 1:30 | 5:30 | 9:30 |
| Four Bells | 2:00 | 6:00 | 10:00 |
| Five Bells | 2:30 | 6:30 | 10:30 |
| Six Bells | 3:00 | 7:00 | 11:00 |
| Seven Bells | 3:30 | 7:30 | 11:30 |
| Eight Bells | 4:00 | 8:00 | 12:00 |
The number of bells may be used to refer to the hour so indicated