Dog watch

A dog watch is a work shift, also known as a "watch", in a maritime watch system that is half the length of a standard watch period. This is typically formed by splitting a single four-hour watch period between 16:00 and 20:00 (4 pm and 8 pm) to form two two-hour dog watches, with the "first" dog watch from 16:00 to 18:00 (4 pm to 6 pm) and the "second" or "last" dog watch from 18:00 to 20:00 (6 pm to 8 pm).

For other uses, see Dog watch (disambiguation).

Need for a dog watch at sea

This watch exists because, in order for the crew to rotate through all the watches, it is necessary to have an odd number of watches in a ship's day. Splitting one of the watches in half allows the sailors to stand different watches instead of one team being forced to stand the mid-watch every night. The choice of time also allows both watches, if there are only two, to eat an evening meal at about the traditional time.[1]

Etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word 'dogwatch' is a direct translation from either German or Dutch of a similar term. It originally referred to the night-watch on ships — that is, the time when (on land) all but the dogs were asleep.[2] The name is also said to be derived from Sirius, the "Dog Star", on the claim that Sirius was the first star that can be seen at night.[3] An alternative folk etymology is that the name arose because someone tasked with one of these 'half' watches was said to be 'dodging the watch', taking or standing the 'dodge watch'. This became shortened to 'dog watch'. Another variation is that those sleeping get only 'dog sleep' in this watch. Stephen Maturin of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series retells the 19th century humourist Theodore Hook's pun that the dog watch is so-named because it is "cur-tailed" ("curtailed", i.e. shortened).[4]

See also

References
  1. Gray, Tony. "Workshop Hints: Ships Bells". The British Horological Institute. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
  2. "dogwatch, n.", Oxford English Dictionary.
  3. "Maths & DT". HMS-Victory.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  4. Smyth, William (1867). The Sailor's Word-Book: An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. London: Blackie & Son. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
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