Helen took her first open water course when she was 15 back in England in 1982 but was unable to complete the course. Here in  Canada, after her husband Dave Cooper, got certified and went on to become an instructor she tried again and took the open water  course two more times but wasn't comfortable enough in the water to complete it! However, her passion for the shipwrecks  continued and after two fundraising dives in Lake Ontario, she overcame her fears and managed to attain the skills needed to finally get certified!

 Helen has been an active member of Save Ontario Shipwrecks 1000 Islands Chapter for many years, is currently the Vice President  and was part of the original mission back in 1997, putting blocks and mooring lines on all the wrecks in the Brockville area, to help   protect and preserve them. She saw a similar need for the Picton wrecks in 2021 and founded a Picton SOS chapter to make sure  that the wrecks in the Picton area of Lake Ontario were moored safely to protect and preserve the wrecks there too.

 When Helen isn't out on the water being Captain for our numerous charters, you can find her in the shop assisting staff and customers alike. She's known to stay open on the weekends until all tanks are filled and ready for morning pick ups, which  sometimes means she's getting home at 3am to get up at 6am and do it all again. She also runs a hobby farm in her spare time!