Originally posted by Darth Invader:

I almost died in 5 feet of water because I was trying to retrieve some loot that sank, but I forgot I hadn't eaten for a while, so I damn near drowned about 10 feet away from shore. Thankfully I was able to get my feet down in time. Pretty bad considering I can scale the side of a vertical cliff like a billy goat no problem.

I usually just kept some stacks of stamina potions with me for drowning situations. Simply tread water, sip some stamina, get to safety