Seems like a stretch. We suck at swimming (compared to bears for speed or distance). The breath thing seems unlikely, polar bears for instance seem quite adept at swimming underwater. Hair doesn't seem an issue either, hair (assuming it's not knotted) doesn't easily catch on things, and hairy bears seem quite adept under water. Sure whales used to be hairy (and has some residual hair today), but that's more the lack of need than any lethal hair+water problem that kills them off before they reproduce.
I've seen numerous speculation on the finger wrinkles, possibly an adaption.... or possibly just happenstance. Sure today's fingers prune significantly, not sure they would do the same if heavily callused by a decade or two of hunter gathering for all your food. In any case it's not unique to humans, macaques have similar and I suspect it's noticed because they bathe. Couldn't find any information on other primates.
Water ape theory doesn't suggest humans have to be great swimmers to survive at waterside areas. There's a lot of stuff to eat where the water is shallow as well as probably a ton of fruit on the trees near the coast. Bi-pedaling would help in spending a lot of time standing in the shallow waters looking down at river bottom. Humans nimble fingers help with finding and dealing with various shellfish that were probably crawling around in the bottom sludge.
The bulk of our hair is on the top of the head - the only place that would be burnt by the sun if you stay all day standing in shallow waters.
The shape of our nose (nostrils directed down) are made convenient to stand vertically without getting water into airways.
What is the picture of a paradise? A beach with a white sand, sun shining, clear blue water, lots of palm trees near the coast. This is because its our natural habitat. Not deep forests, not savannah. It's tropical beach!
If I was to be left alone and naked on an inhabited piece of land I would definitely choose a tropical beach out of all untouched locations on the planet, because it is the most likely place where I would be able to survive.
No we aren’t the best mammals at swimming but, definitely the best primates. And I think the argument is that the theoretical aquatic ape spent much more time in water than the typical bear.
I've seen numerous speculation on the finger wrinkles, possibly an adaption.... or possibly just happenstance. Sure today's fingers prune significantly, not sure they would do the same if heavily callused by a decade or two of hunter gathering for all your food. In any case it's not unique to humans, macaques have similar and I suspect it's noticed because they bathe. Couldn't find any information on other primates.
[edit for minor spelling/grammar tweaks]