I grew up in Minnesota, tagged The Land of 10,000 Lakes when really we have like 50% more than that, and I attribute my love of being on water to that. I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, my grandparents and later aunt and uncle had/have a house on Lake Minnetonka where we’d spend much of each summer swimming, boating, and fishing.
Eventually my parents bought their own lake house. “House” is perhaps too generous of a term – it was more of a double-wide trailer but on a huge double-lot right on a beautiful little lake in Central Minnesota. Eventually, many years later, they built their dream house, donated the trailer, sold the house near the city, and became full-time lake folks. So now when I visit home, it’s actually a visit to my childhood cabin.
So maybe water is just my element because of concentrated times spent in or at it. But I’ve spent a lot of my adult life travelling to and by water. It offers me clarity, the ability to focus, and nothing is ever as clear to me as it is when I’m underwater.