Treasure Island (Ships Bell) Traditional Cache
Treasure Island (Ships Bell)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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Sadly the Ships Bell has been lost at sea and the cost of replacement is to great and so is now a camo Bison swinging in it's old place.
Ship’s bell.
The bell was used as early as the 15th century to sound the time on board ship by striking each half hour of a watch. The mariner’s day is divided into six watches, each four hours long, except that the 4:00 to 8:00 PM watch may be “dogged”; that is, divided into the first and second dog watches, each two hours long, to allow men on duty to have their evening meal. Through the 18th century, time was ordinarily measured on board ship by using a 30-minute sand glass. The quartermaster or ship’s boy turned the glass when the sand ran through, and it became customary for him to strike the bell as he did so. Eight times in each watch the glass was turned and the number of strokes on the bell indicated the number of half hours elapsed after the men came on deck. These strokes are sounded in pairs, with an interval following each pair. And a single if it is needed at the end. i.e. 1 ½ hours into the watch would be – ding, ding, ding. Watches are 4 hours long, 00.00 – 04.00, 04.00 – 08.00, 08.00 – 12.00, 12.00 – 16.00, then the first Dog watch 16.00 – 18.00, second Dog watch 18.00 – 20.00, Then the last watch 20.00 – 24.00. splitting the watch into two Dog watches meant that the crew slowly rotated through the different watches and were not stuck on the same ones all the time. The place of origin of this seagoing custom is unknown, but it was nearly universal among Europeans and sailors of the Mediterranean area by the 18th century. British ships, after the mutiny at the Nore (1797), followed a special numbering in the dog watch. From 4:00 to 8:00 PM, the usual bells are struck except that at 6:30 PM only one bell is struck instead of five; two at 7:00 PM; three at 7:30 PM; and eight bells at 8:00 PM. thus the signal for the mutiny, five bells in the second dog watch, has never since been given. A series of rapid, successive strokes on the bell is used as a warning during fog, and, at other times, this is a fire signal. A Ship’s Bell carries the name of the ship on it and could identify a wreck if found, if the ship is renamed the bell still caries the name of the ship when launched as it is considered bad luck to change it.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pebff fgvyr abegu gb fbhgu, yrsg unaq fvqr ng onfr bs fgvyr cbfg, haqre envy naq fgbar. ercynpr va fnzr fcbg bhg bs cynva fvtug.