what about different ways across?
like you can break some wood and drop it near the water to create a bridge.
[you can say walk into 1 block of water...provided you can grab onto something.....you drop say stone or wood to create another space you can safely walk out until a bridge is created........if you move away from anything to grab...chances are you'll swim like a brick provided your load isn't too heavy or you armor isn't too hard to move in....big heavy chest plate..gauntlets and boots would making agile swimming hard]
I also thought of finding lilly pads.......dried up lily pads you can collect and add to water......then you have to wait about 100-200 turns for them to hydrate themselves in water allowing you to pass.