FAQ

Would you explain each part of the clock?

It is a twenty-four hour clock.

• the hour hand is the shortest, it goes around once per day.
• the minute hand is the longest, it goes around once per hour.
• the watch hand, that is the narrowest, goes around once every four hours.
• the sun and moon are shown in position relative to your meridian. When at noon they are as high in the sky as they will be for the day, at the noon meridian. What is shown is referred to in celestial navigation as the “local hour angle”.
• the ticks every four hours correspond to the hour hand. They deliniate the beginnings and ends of four hour watch periods.
• the heavier ticks every six hours correspond to the watch hand. They deliniate the four hours of the watch.

For some examples, see reading the clock face

What are the numbers?

The big bold numbers next to or below the clock face display your current latitude, longitude, speed, and direction.

• the latitude, for example, N 24º 17’ 55” decodes as north latitude twenty-four degrees, seventeen minutes, fifty-five seconds.
• the longitude, for example, W 110º 19’ 54” decodes as west longitude one-hundred ten degrees, nineteen minutes, fifty-four seconds.
• the velocity, for example, 0.3 kts NW decodes as moving three tenths of a knot toward the northwest. The clock shows sixteen cardinal directions, for example, N, NNW, NW, WNW, W, … and so forth.

How do I tell time by the bells?

A ship’s watch begins every four hours. Generally, we know what time it is to the nearest four hours– midnight, 4am, 8am, noon, 4pm, 8pm

The ship’s bell rings every half hour. A double-ring counts one hour of the watch. A single ring at the end counts one half hour following the hour.

As an example, if we’re just past mid-day and not into late afternoon, we know that we’re on the watch that began at noon.

• one single ring means it’s 12:30pm
• one double ring means it’s 1:00pm
• two double rings followed by a single ring means it’s 2:30pm
• four double rings signify the end of the watch and the beginning of the next. In this example, the time is now 4:00pm

Why bells?

The bell is a simple and reliable means to tell time without looking at the clock. We have Big Ben in London, a grandfather clock, or a cuckoo clock. These ring up to twelve times to give the hour. The ship’s bells are more succinct given we generally know day or night, early morning or afternoon.

Why does the app require notifications?

When the app is not displayed on your device, but nevertheless open, it can play the bells for you using notifications. The app is not available to play the bells directly when it is in this state. The notifications method is the best allowed by the operating system.

What do I do about the half hourly notifications visual clutter?

In iOS 15, the notification sounds no longer play. In order to fix this, we had to add a title to the notification. We simply put the time. There’s no real benefit to seeing the notification. In the notification settings for ShipsClock, under “alerts”:

• turn off “Lock Screen”
• turn off “Notification Center”
• Leave on “Allow Notifications” and “Sounds”

Here is a screen shot. These settings will give you bell sounds without visual clutter.

Will the silence switch silence the bells?

When the app is using notifications, yes. The silence switch will silence the bells. When the app is actively displayed on the screen of your phone it will play the bells regardless of the silence switch setting.

Can I keep my device from vibrating when the bells sound?

The vibration setting for notifications is currently a global setting for your phone. The bells must be played as notifications when the app is not actively displayed. Thus, the vibrations setting dictates whether your phone will vibrate when the bells play.