While in college I borrowed the next door neighbors "sail boat". It was hardly more than a surfboard with a sail and a two foot fin sticking down, along with a rudder. It was in the winter in South Texas. It drifted out from shore while my wife and I were eating lunch on the beach. I had failed to tie it off properly. I swam out after it, sans life jacket, and in the cold water my legs cramped. I made it back to shore after much thrashing about.
A decade or so ago, while fishing the Miracle Mile in Wyoming, I stepped off into a hole. I was wearing chest waders, along with the correct belt. My prayer was "Please Lord, don't let me panic." I managed to swim/float to shallow water without losing anything but my poise.
