If wetness is the property of having water on something, what is the property of something in water?
I'm firmly on the side of "water is not wet" in this debate, but it's a question that I was asked while I was high and have no answer to it. Water cannot itself be wet because you can't get water on water. However, what is a fish in a lake? It can't be wet until it's taken out of the water, but it's not dry either. Is it something else?
So, just to understand your position - is a soaked sponge not wet?
I think a fish in water is still wet (i.e. in contact with some amount of water) but that's superseded by the fact that it's immersed in water, and thus not a very meaningful attribute.
I've never seen a sponge sink on its own, so in some sense they will always either wet or dry when not in use. If something holds a sponge under water, it becomes immersed and gains this mysterious new property