^^^ yeah, probably not
I do carry a machete and a handgun in my PFD. Which is great, if you have time to react. But my recent close encounter was a case of being in the middle of the lake (where you would not expect to typically encounter a gator without seeing him first) and he popped his head up next to the yak with no warning. Pretty sure he thought the yak was a gator from afar and swam very fast underwater from shore to investigate.