Watchstanding regulate the sailors' duty watches and for other purposes (see main article). Unlike civil clock bells, the strikes of a ship's 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 in a pattern of pairs for easier counting, with any odd bells at the end of the sequence. Watchstanding Watchstanding, or watchkeeping, in nautical terms concerns the division of qualified personnel to operate a ship continuously. On a typical seafaring vessel, be it naval or merchant, personnel keep watch
Nautical Archaeology Society Training programme. The Joan du Plat Taylor Award is a grant awarded annually by the Nautical Archaeology Society to support publication of nautical archaeological research. The grant was originally funded personally by Joan du Plat Taylor, the founder editor of "IJNA" and the first president of the Nautical Archaeology Society. The Adopt-a-wreck scheme, run by the Nautical Archaeology Society was set up as a joint initiative with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to encourage groups and individuals to take a close interest in a maritime site, and adopt a minimum level of stewardship, monitoring how the site changes over time.