I'm also afraid of water, particularly large bodies of water (river, lake, ocean) where I can't see what's in it with me or see the bottom. My fear came after I learned how to swim. Its taken me years to build up the idea of trying to do something like this to get over the fear.
This was a powerful article for me...not because I relate to the person, but because I can't relate to him. I have a few adult friends who can't swim. Some probably can't because they never got around to it, but I suspect some probably have a difficult-to-explain fear that, when told, "Why the hell don't you just learn to swim, it's so easy?", probably don't appreciate it. This story really did a nice job of explaining a visceral fear that is inexplicable on a rational level.