do you were helmets when you go swiming? it would get pretty nasty quick..and heavy...lol
as for the gators they are not that bad...a few here and there...biggest i have seen was about 5 to 6 feet...whats really cool is when we do night rides and the water isn't all stirred up you can see fish swimming in front of the headlights. last time i had a 12in or bigger gar swimming right in front of me