My mom learned Drownproofing from Fred Lanoue himself. It really does work - the "final exam" involves being tossed into the pool with arms and legs bound, as well as being tossed in fully clothed. You can use your pants or shirt (especially blue jeans) to rig an improvised PFD, all sorts of other clever ideas. You don't need extensive survival training, most of it is just common sense knowledge.
Most drowning deaths are due to panic not hypothermia.
What you learn and do in a pool is just ducky. Given the time and lower than body temperature of most bodies of water, hypothermia will eventually take it's toll. And that's with PFD's or improvised PFD's, drown proofing with or without Fred Lanoue himself. The water does not have to be as cold as the North Atlantic, either. As far as panic is concerned, yeah, most people die from panic. But when you get past the panic stage, hypothermia is the next threat.