No, DROWN is a verb, so you can't be DROWN. If you want to use verbs that way, you have to use the ING form. CORRECT I was drowning. I was eating dinner. I was playing tennis. INCORRECT I was drown. I was eat dinner. I was play tennis. So, your sentence should be something like: I was drowning and my leg stuck out of the water. (adding SURFACE is unnatural)