Steve & Katrin Cooper own and operate Past Perfect Productions, an Underwater Photo and Video Company. Their photographs have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers such as; Diver, Dive Ontario, Modern Women and the Toronto Star. Videos have been shown on Discovery, Life, TSN, CKVR and Channel 47 Networks as well as others.
Bikini Atoll
They were fortunate in their varied diving career to visit Bikini Atoll and experience some of the most breath taking shipwrecks known to man. At the time of their visit to Bikini they were only the 2nd group from Canada to do so. Bikini Atoll was once the site of the post war nuclear tests code name “Operation Crossroads” and it’s lagoon now offers a collection of wrecks with major historical significance. The sunken fleet includes battleships, destroyers, submarines, cruisers, attack transports and the only aircraft carrier wreck accessible to divers, the USS Saratoga. You will have the opportunity to witness the effects of a nuclear explosion on warships as these are the only ships in the world ever sunk by an Atomic bomb. A small sample of the wrecks goes as follows: USS Saratoga:
Commissioned in 1927, an American aircraft carrier 880 feet in length and weighing 39,000 tons, it rests upright at a depth of 197 feet. There are eight different deck levels below the flight deck offering a varied look into the ships past. HIJMS Nagato: This 708′ long battleship is a steel hulled vessel and also was the flagship of The Japanese Imperial Navy during WW2. From this ship the words Tora Tora Tora were uttered by General Yamamoto as the Japanese launched the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was also the site of the surrender of the Japanese in 1945. The Nagato sits upside down in 180 feet of Serenity. USS Arkansas: This 562′ battleship had a long riveted steel hull. She was the oldest Capitol Ship in WW2. is inverted lying in 160 to 170 feet of water. USS Apogon: She is a welded, riveted and high-tensile Balo-class steel submarine. The Apogon, 312′ long and 47′ high sank upright in 180′ of water.