Minecraft wiki entry for Elevators, associated text: As the player is rising or falling, a careful motion should be used to move until one is far enough out of the vertical stream that air is available, one can tell because the breath meter disappears. Then, there is no limit on how far up or down one can go in the water. It is also possible to stay centered in the stream but moves sideways far enough that the breath meter is reset once in a while. This, of course, needs careful movement control.