My student was trying to do a free descent. </p><p>I hovered below him, frustrated because I could clearly see what he was doing wrong but I couldn’t offer an explanation with a regulator in my mouth. </p><p>The crazy barrage of hand signals I had attempted so far &mdash; “exhale and stop kicking!” and then “swim down with your hands and feet!” &mdash; had only served to confuse him, so I clasped my hands together, watched, and waited.</p><p>He would figure it out. He wasn’t in danger of getting caught in a current and we had done two dives together the day before so I felt comfortable giving him some time to problem-solve. </p><p>When he finally started making progress, I gave him an enthusiastic nod and motioned him downward. I dropped to my knees on the sandy patch below. He sank through the blue-tinged water and, after a bit of clumsy maneuvering, positioned himself beside me. The triumph was clear on his face and he pumped a fist in the air as I gave him a silent round of applause. During the open water training dives, students are required to perform a free descent &mdash; dropping to the bottom in a controlled manner without using a descent line for reference or assistance. </p><p>The first step is to be properly weighted. Divers have the right amount of weight if they can float at eye level while holding a normal breath without any air in their BCD jackets. As the diver exhales, he or she should start to sink.</p><p>Once we start to sink the water pressure works in our favor and we continue to descend under the growing weight of the water. We control the rate of our descent by kicking our fins. Faster kicks will slow or halt our descent entirely, while slower kicks or no kicks at all will allow us to continue downward. </p><p>During a descent we have to equalize certain air spaces, particularly our ears. Continually blowing against pinched nostrils usually does the trick &mdash; ears gently pop and the pressure inside equalizes with the pressure outside as we descend. </p><p>If we stop kicking and start descending too fast, our ears may not have time to equalize and we will start to feel pain &mdash; a “squeeze.” We’ll have to kick hard and ascend a few feet to relieve the pressure so we can clear our ears before we can continue a descent. </p><p>Kicking too hard or too fast may prevent us from descending altogether. </p><p>If a diver is underweighted at all, the first few feet of a descent can be a challenge. Divers sometimes will duck their heads and then use their arms and feet to swim down, clearing their ears as they go. Several feet into a descent, they should be able to relax and let the water pressure do the rest. </p><p>While new divers are trying to process all this information and successfully get to the bottom, they also have to remember to watch out below. It’s best to head for a patch of sand, but watch out for fragile coral structures on the way down. A wayward fin kick can do a lot of damage…and don’t forget, some types of coral will fight back. </p><p>With a little practice, divers can learn to gain neutral buoyancy as they descend. Soon they will be able to end their descent by settling into a horizontal position just above the bottom, ready to start their dive.</p><p>If there’s current, a free descent can be tricky, if not impossible. You’ll want to hold onto a descent line until you reach the bottom and then start your dive by swimming into the current.</p><p>More than once I’ve spread arms and legs wide on a free descent, as if to embrace the whole ocean on my downward flight. Images materialize and soon enough I have to level off for the rest of the dive…but that brief sensation of flying still thrills me every time.</p><p><i>Katharine 'Kat' Wheatley is a dive instructor in Key Largo. This column appeared in The Reporter in 2008.</i>