WATCH

The length of the sea-watch is not equal in the shipping of different nations. It is always kept four hours by our British seamen, if we except the dog-watch between four and eight in the evening, that contains two reliefs, each of which are only two hours on deck. The intent of this is to change the period of the night-watch every twenty-four hours; so that the party watching from eight till twelve in one night, shall watch from midnight till four in the morning on the succeeding one. In France the duration of the watch is extremely different, being in some places six hours, and in others feven or eight: and in Turky and Barbary it is usually five or six hours.

A ship's company is usually classed into two parties; one of which is called the starboard and the other the larboard watch. It is, however, occasionally separated into three divisions, as in a road, or in particular voyages.

In a ship of war the watch is generally commanded by a lieutenant, and in merchant-ships by one of the mates; so that if there are four mates in the latter, there are two in each watch; the first and third being in the larboard, and the second and fourth in the starboard watch: but in the navy the officers who command the watch usually divide themselves into three parts, in order to lighten their duty.

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