Maybe he doesnt know how to swim.
Now come on. You live on an island surrounded by water and you do not know how to swim? I call BS on that one.
What happens when the island tips over and you slide into the water? Huh, your screwed if you cannot swim.
Many times I was at a public pool, which had a mix of blacks and whites, and none of the blacks knew how to swim. Wade in the shallow end. Yes. Swim, no.