Unable to get out of the water

After swimming in water, I was unable to get out of the water. holding space bar allows me to bob/swim on the surface, but I cannot exit to an adjacent block. I tried crafting stairs and walking out but I could not ascend to up the stair block.

This occurred just after entering and exiting an unloaded chunk (a separate bug?) and have had no problems in this world, which was created in the current version.