Good article on drowning

My family spent a week at a small lake with some friends when I was six.  I was given a life perserver and allowed to swim for hours at a time.  After four or five days the life perserver became water logged and I had trouble swiming.  Luckily a friend of the family noticed I was in trouble and rescued me.

Drowing Doesn't Look Like Drowning explains that the television version of drowning is not what happens in real life.  It is worth reading.