Oh, for certain!
What made it worse was, at the time, I didn't know how to swim. Whenever I got into a pool, I always just splashed around in the shallow end, or I would maneuver my way around the parameter of the pool by scaling the edge of the pool with my hands. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I, somehow, managed to teach myself how to swim - now, I don't care how deep the water is, as long I've got room to swim, I'm good.
Despite my size, I can float surprisingly well. I can quite literally just relax on the surface of the water like a dead fish.