Finless! The mothers I know would be horrified at the cash-as-lure idea haha
Okay, Ron, I’m not a parent (except to cats and dogs) but I am an auntie to my brother’s 3 kids and godmother to friends’ many kids.
Nephew Paolo, 5, used to a pool, hated the feel of wet sand on his feet (“dirty, dirty,” he’d say). Even with a life vest on him, he had his legs locked around my waist for the first 20 minutes or so. He only made a go of it when he saw his brother (9) and sister (7) take to the water like guppies (wait, those are freshwater fishes, but you get what I mean). So, maybe, on the next outing, invite kids (who your daughter emulates) who already love the ocean. Passion is catching. Hopefully, she’ll want to be “like the other kids” despite herself.
Nicola, my friend’s kid, is turning 12. When I was at their house two weeks ago, she announced that she wants to be a diver (her mom had stopped at intro-dive). I was so proud. It also surprised/delighted me that she still remembers how, when she was 7, we hired an outrigger boat to go snorkeling near a cove. She, holding on to an inner tube for dear life, was paired with me (while her mom—deserving a break—and another girl floated on their backs to enjoy the twilight and early display of stars). She remembers how I showed her to move her legs and arms so that the bioluminescent algae lit up under us. She was even persuaded to dunk her head underwater (albeit with one arm still hooked to her flotation device), the better to marvel at the phosphorescence. So, maybe, give your daughter a marine quest. “Today, we will look at a clownfish”...or something. Better (and more memorable) than any water toy