I hear this a lot from non swimmers but why ,I ask myself. You shower in water or take a bath, you know what water feels like. You drink water...you are made of water...and other minerals.It rains you get wet.My point is water is all around us and we cannot avoid it. I am trying to convince the non swimmer to swim or poor swimmer,there is nothing to be afraid of. To learn to swim, you need water and the will to swim. I would advise trying to learn in a supervised area, such as a public pool or private pool with one on one with the teacher.Learning to float is the first thing to do usually with a life jacket or float noodle. It took me 3 weeks (2 sessions a week) to learn to swim at a girls Y when I was 7 years old.Was I very good then? no I don't think so..I did the dog paddle which was very exhausting.But I did swim in the deep end..a whole 7 feet deep!
I know swimming isn't for everybody but I ask you respect the water, not fear it. Swimming has kept me healthy for 47 years. When I was around 26 years old , I would swim 2 miles a day in a 40 foot indoor pool. That's a lot of laps. But this made me stronger for my snorkeling under water. I could hold my breath for 2.5 minutes under water. With the right equipment snorkeling can be a very good hobby as I have found out. My summers are taken up by diving 2-3 hours a day and on some days 5-9 hours with breaks to eat.
There is another world below the surface of the water, waiting for you to explore it.