If you were anywhere near the Ferry Reach/Coney Island area on Tuesday, you would have seen a strange sight.

A long line of teenagers clad in dark green were floating peacefully across the water from Coney Island to Ferry Reach, their belongings bobbing brightly next to them, while army skiffs loaded down with armed Regiment soldiers looked on.

You may have been alarmed, or, at the very least, somewhat confused. But the teens were not worried ? they were just enjoying the coolness of the water after a long, hot march from Shelley Bay.

The Bermuda Cadet Corps has been around since 1932, but it has never seen a year like this one.

Last year 140 cadets were enrolled, and seventy percent of them were girls.

But this year, after a massive effort to bring the Island?s middle- and high-schools on board, the number of cadets enrolled in the programme has leapt to 630 ? roughly as many cadets as there are soldiers in the Bermuda Regiment itself.

The gender split has also evened up somewhat ? this year sixty percent of the cadets are young men.

And the level of interest continues to rise. Cadet Corps Commandant Maj. Anthony Steede said three to four calls are still received on any given day from parents or teenagers interested in joining up.

During the school year cadets are taken through their exercises once a week, with several weekend camps.

?They learn a lot of theory,? Maj. Steede said. That includes map-reading, radio work, First Aid, drills, as well as how to live in the field ? cooking, pitching tents, basic survival skills, adventure training ? even abseiling, kayaking and paintball. Weapons training is about to be re-introduced.

And in the summer, the cadets put all that theory to practical use in a 15-day summer camp. The first week consists of ?very intensive? weapons training, drills and field craft.

They also do two live fires with two different weapons and, in their second week, go on a three-day exercise ? hence the floating around at Coney Island.

The cadets had begun the expedition the day before with a camp at Hog Bay Park.

There they had to conduct command tasks such as finding their rations and water supply for the next few days. ?That went very well,? Maj. Steede said.

In fact, the cadets were so enthusiastic in their search that they decided to raid headquarters, he added ruefully. ?They had to be rebuked ... They had a blast. They thoroughly enjoyed it all.?

On Tuesday, the cadets marched from Hog Bay to Barnes Corner, where they met a transport which conveyed them to Shelley Bay.

From Shelley Bay they continued their march to Coney Island where, as several explained, they learned how to pack their rucksacks in such a way as to make them waterproof floatation devices.

On the beach they were met by their Commander-in-Chief, Governor John Vereker, who addressed them while standing in one of the boats.

?I am very pleased to see so many of you,? he said, telling them how proud he was.

When he asked if they were enjoying it, the cadets responded with a resounding: ?Yes!?

?Tell your friends!? Sir John replied. ?We want people to realise this is fun ? that they can do things they didn?t think they could do.?

Then, group by group, forming long, straggling lines, the cadets waded into the water and floated across to Ferry Reach, where they spent their last night.

?What if all my stuff gets wet?? one cadet was heard to ask worriedly. ?Then you?ll have to spread it out to dry,? his superior replied, matter-of-factly.

Of the 630 cadets enrolled in the year-round programme, only 109 were able to join the summer camp, Maj. Steede said. Many have to work in the summer, he explained, and cannot afford to take the two weeks off for camp. ?It is a challenge. I would encourage employers, if there is any way they can do it, to give cadets the two weeks with pay ? that would be great. Because it will benefit the country in the long run.?

The programme itself costs the cadets nothing, he added. ?This is the most complete programme offered in Bermuda to participate. The only cost if is they lose something, their uniform, they have to pay for a replacement.

?But we feed them, transport them, clothe them, all at no cost.?

The goal is to develop young people into well-rounded, positive citizens of their country ? and, obviously, future leaders of the Regiment.

If cadets remain in the Corps until their 18th birthday, they are automatically called for Regiment duty, Maj. Steede said. ?They don?t have a choice.?

However instead of being drafted as a private, the former cadets are instantly moved into the officers? ranks. They can only defer if they are going to university.

The cadets are in every middle school and both senior secondary schools. And, with Saltus and Mount Saint Agnes (MSA) joining up this year, Maj. Steede said he hopes for an even greater cross-section of Bermuda?s youth.

?This is probably one of the greatest melting pots you can get. They all wear green and they get treated accordingly.?

Corporal Cheyenne Trott joined the cadets as an 11 year old with two other girlfriends who wanted to prove they could do everything boys could do.

Her brother used to be a cadet and it sounded like fun, she said. Five years later, she said her experience with the Bermuda Cadets had been ?pretty interesting?.

?We?re not outnumbered by the boys, there?s a good ratio,? she added.

As cadets move through the ranks they are assigned to a sergeant to help run a platoon or a section. From there, they move on to the rank of sergeant and run their own platoon, and then on to further things.

?The hardest thing to do is dealing with the privates,? Corporal Trott admitted.

Moving in to her fifth year as a cadet, she said this year will also probably be her last. The 15-year old Warwick Academy student said she and her two friends had considered staying in the cadets and joining the Regiment at 18, however: ?I think for my last year (at Warwick Academy) I want to focus on school.?

Focusing on her studies and attending a good university will give her more options, she said, although she did not rule out joining the Regiment after graduation.

Lance Corporal Kyle Hodsoll is at the end of his fifth year as a cadet. ?I joined because I wanted to have fun, experience new things ? and shoot weapons,? he said with a grin.

Late-night activities, war games and adventures in the field are part of what has made his experience memorable ? but discipline and hard work are key in the Cadet Corps, he said. ?I?ve learned how to respect people, my elders, and that if you work hard, you can achieve many things.?

To new cadets, the 15-year old CedarBridge student advised: ?Pay attention. Obey what people say. If you don?t ? it?ll be harder later.?

Private Jo-Rena Davis has been a cadet for three months.

?I like it,? the 15-year old Berkeley student said. ?I like getting to experience different things.

?I wanted a challenge, and this seemed like a good, positive thing to do. It?s something every teenager should try.?

It?s not all bobbing around in the water, however. ?Shooting rifles is tough. I have no aim. Pretty much everything is challenging.

?Going to sleep at the end of the day is the easiest thing ? because if you work your hardest, it?s easy to go to sleep at night.?

Private Kevin White is also in his first year as a cadet. At 14, Pte. White attends home school, and said the social aspect of the Cadets is one of the biggest draws for him. ?I?m making new friends. It?s fun.

?It was nerve-wracking at first. I found it all harder than I thought, but in a good way.?

One of Pte. White?s biggest challenge was, like Pte. Davis, shooting the rifles ? but his problem was not aim. ?My arms aren?t that long,? he admitted with a smile.

All the marching the cadets do is the easy part, however. ?I?m learning a lot, I?m coming back next year. And my dad says is will get easier when I go to the Regiment if I keep doing this.?

Although Saltus and MSA have introduced the Bermuda Cadet Corps in their schools, the Bermuda High School (BHS) has not done so yet.

But that hasn?t stopped Lance Corporal Akilah Reid from joining up. In the end of her third year as a cadet, she said will be coming back again next year.

?I love camping out in the field, being out in the open,? the 15-year old said. However she admitted sometimes it can be tough to keep up in camp with her added responsibilities as a lance corporal. ?It?s difficult to stay up and make sure everyone is quiet, wait until they are all asleep, and then wake up early in the morning to do physical training.?

Fortunately, the lack of sleep has not affected her aim. ?I have good aim shooting the rifles ? I am the lowest in our grouping.?

?For me, this has to be the agent for change in Bermuda,? Maj. Steede said, watching the cadets in the water at Coney Island.

?If we can convert 630 here, they just tell one or two of their friends ? the challenges we are facing in this community will fade away.

?We are motivating young people to be the absolute best that they can be.?