Polishing the brass, washing the deck and unfurling the sails were all tasks on order for surprised teenagers who thought they were in for a three-day cruise on the Spirit of Bermuda.

The trip, which was organised by the Diabetes Association and funded by Sally Frith, whose husband recently died and left donations for this, was for children at risk for diabetes.

Besides having to learn to go without soda and refined sugars, the 14- and 15-year-olds all had to learn to do shifts and sail the boat.

One 15-year-old, Meshach Douglas who helped captain the boat into Hamilton Harbour said he found it difficult to adjust, but really enjoyed the trip, which even gave him the chance to swim with a shark in St. George's Harbour.

The CedarBridge student said: "It was a learning experience; it was a lot of fun. We got to swim with a shark this morning when we went for our morning exercises.

"I learned how to sail the boat how to put up the sails and we had to clean the ship every morning. The (drinking) water was extremely warm.

"I am going to start eating breakfast. We learned how much sugar is in soda. I won't drink as much as I used to."

As well as depriving the teens of their usual sugary sodas and refined sugars, the dieticians and doctor onboard helped encourage the children to lead more active lifestyles.

Sara McKittrick, a clinical dietician and educator for the Bermuda Diabetes Association said because of the setting — on a boat rather than a classroom — conversations naturally evolved into her giving them healthy tips.

She said: "It went really well. We came on board with objectives they were all met and then some.

"There was natural apprehension the first days but I was impressed how all of them became a team. By the third day they were saying their body needs sugar. That led the conversation to 'you don't need it to function'.

"They had been giving their bodies that much but they don't need that."

Other mantras the teenagers heard repeatedly from Mrs. McKittrick were to eat fresh fruit and veg, to participate in 60 minutes of exercise daily and to eat breakfast every morning.