Really........weird.
So were you guys scared when surfing the sea in WW?
Only when I was knocked out of the boat and had a moment of panic as I struggled to get back in, and then only because I couldn't fight or flee until I got back in.
Not everything sets off the fear response. For example, in Tomb Raider Legend, all the water was clear and obviously empty of danger, so it didn't phase me at all until I got to the bottom of the England level. There the water was so deep and dark that anything could be in it, and then there was a long, deep groan from something huge. That set me into full panic mode as I swam full speed for the closest bit of land I could find.
For another example, compare Super Mario 64 to Super Mario Galaxy. In SM64, Nintendo added a touch of paranoia by making the water itself drain your life away. You could only avoid drowning by grabbing coins, so each coin you collected actually made staying underwater more dangerous. In SMG, there's a separate air meter, far more opportunities to refill it from bubble sources that never run out, and you can actually fight underwater, not to mention how much faster you can swim. Finally, nothing dangerous in the water is invulnerable. The net result? There's a huge underwater boss fight in SMG that didn't get me any more worked up than any other boss fight, and SM64 has a completely harmless creature that's basically just a moving platform that I am afraid to get close to.