When the boss said he wanted me to go ?swimming with the fishes? before the sun comes up I wondered what I had done wrong.

Figuring it better not to argue with such a Mafia-esque request I made my way as instructed to John Smith?s Bay. I?d been assured others swam with the fishes at 6 a.m.

On the way to the beach there was evidence of other early risers. Bermudians like to start their day with a bit of exercise. Go out pre-dawn and you?ll see strings of walkers pounding the paths and roads with torches in hand, or small groups of cyclists getting in a few miles on the still quiet roads, or the occasional runner.

But dawn swimmers? Arriving at John Smith?s Bay bleary-eyed in the thin, pre-dawn light I saw only virgin sand devoid of footprints. I?d been tricked. Or so I thought as I watched the waves rolling in along the South Shore beach.

Then a figure appeared strolling towards the water?s edge as if going for a swim before the sun had even pulled itself clear of the horizon was the most natural thing in the world to be doing.

It was one of the ?Dawn Swimmers?, a hardy breed of Bermudians who show up every day summer or winter to go for an early morning ocean swim.

Having filled up an old detergent bottle with sea water and left it half way up the beach, she returned to the water and quickly started to swim up and down parallel with the bay.

Before long another swimmer arrived and repeated the detergent bottle routine before joining her friend in the surging surf.

As intriguing as the detergent bottle mystery appeared it was time to get find out why these women (and a few late arriving men) plunge daily into the ocean for a quarter-of-an-hour or more of exercise.

I followed them into the sea. The water was mild and surprisingly pleasant. A storm was hovering beyond the horizon but already pushing sizeable waves on to shore.

And yet the slightly wild conditions pleased the swimmers. More arrived until there were about 10. It was barely 6.30 a.m. and the orange sun was dancing along the horizon, peeking through distant clouds

?How long have you been doing this?? I asked the swimmers.

Some could not be more definite other than ?many years?, one pinned down an exact date in 1987, while another woman has been a regular for the past 40 years.

But why so early and why swimming in the ocean?

?The beauty of it is that every morning it is a different sunrise. You are looking at God?s creation. It is fantastic,? said swimmer Fay White.

?Through the year you can see the sun moving along different parts of the horizon so you can tell the season. Why do we do it? The sunrises and it does something for your body and mind.

?After I?ve started to swim in the morning nothing could bug me. Why should I let someone else bug my day when I?ve had such a good morning talking and laughing with the others in the water. And they say laughter is the best medicine.?

The swimmers don?t compete. It is a social occasion where the participants can go off and do their own bit of exercise and then return to the group for a chat.

Dorothea Pemberton has been swimming at dawn for over 15 years. She said the swimmers sometimes venture east from the bay towards an unusually-shaped rocky island that is known as ?the man in the boat?, or around the corner past the rocks to the west, where, from the vantage point of being offshore it is possible to see ?the owl? another oddly shaped rock.

?When it is a holiday we have breakfast on the beach cooked by the men,? she said.

Fellow swimmer Dr. Muriel Wade said: ?It is invigorating and it?s awakening. It?s free and there is companionship.

?We go out there and discuss old Bermudian traditions and solve the problems of the world. It takes a little effort but you can?t argue with the results.?

Many of the swimmers are seniors, none more so than 90-year-old Voorhees Place who has been coming to the beach for 20 years and says he does it for the exercise.

April Harvey also does it for the exercise and adds: ?Sometimes I dream about it at night and if I don?t come here I?m upset with myself. It sets you up for the day.?

I was told the benefits of invigoration and feeling fresh and energised during the day would become apparent once I?d returned home from the beach. And so it proved. Those 20 minutes in the water provided some kind of rejuvenation.

Roslyn Raynor said: ?I?ve been coming for more than 20 years. Health-wise it is very, very good. From coming down even in the winter I stay healthy. I?ve never had the flu. In January and February it is a wake up call. Once you have done your swim for the rest of the day it makes you feel wonderful.?

Only extremely rough weather prevents the Dawn Swimmers venturing into the ocean. But even on those rare days some still venture down to John Smith?s Bay where they sit in their cars, watch the surf and have talk and laugh.

And finally, those detergent bottles that get filled up with sea water before the swimmers take their daily dip ? not such a mystery after all.

The water washes of the sand on their feet before they put their shoes back on.