Who can't do that (assuming physical capability)?

Have you ever tried to teach an adult to swim? Not inconsiderable.

I learned to swim because of a couple of reasons 1) my mom doesn't swim that well ( actually she doesn't swim badly, but it isn't a strong skill) my theory is she grew up on the ocean where it is harder to swim 2) as a baby - I may have hated sand - but I ran to the water. So all there of us had endless numbers of lessons. If I hadn't hated my instructers I might have done well competatively . But I didn't even think about it until I was In my 30's .

Sadly, I don't swim much now. someday I would love to have a a lap pool.

my theory is she grew up on the ocena where it is harder to swim

Harder to swim than where? I've never found that.

I've always been around water -- my family's cabin in Canada is right on the lake, and my best friend growing up had a pool and lived right next door. I can't remember ever learning to swim, so it must have been pretty young.

It's harder to swim in the ocean than a swimming pool. There are actually waves, currents, rip tides, undertows...

I can back stroke fairly competently, but I cannot do the face down strokes. I cannot get coordinated enough to breathe on the right stroke. I like my air handy whenever I want it. I have deep water issues, but I think if I had more endurance that wouldn't be an issue.

My parents tossed me in the pool when I was a year or so old. They kinda left me there--the Senior Common Room pool was our weekend babysitter while my father played tennis or my mother worked. Both my high schools had swim classes, but it was redundant by that point -- my father had thoroughly drilled us in all the main strokes and diving by the time we were 8.

I didn't realise I had the option of not liking swimming until I was in my 20s.

I learned how to swim as a child. I want to say around 7 or so, but I'm not sure. I don't recall there being any big deal about it, beyond my mother thinking we kids should know how to swim.

We also had swimming as part of PE in highschool, where I actually learned (and have since forgotten) a bunch of different strokes.

Thinking about it, I think the last time I ever swam was in highschool. Wow.

I can remember the formal lessons I had when I was 5 and 6 though I swam a lot before then. My mom used to take me and we'd do the porpoise where I would cling on her neck and she would swim in and out of the water.

It's one of my favorite mom memories.

It's harder to swim in the ocean, but you're more buoyant in salt water. My kids can't swim, because all their water time is spent in the ocean. Ben had an aversion to getting his face wet, and the few times we tried to teach him when he was the right age, he strenuously objected. We got lazy with the other two. We're planning on swim lessons for them, before this summer, because we're big failures in this area.