Helen Wilson is a sea kayaker who lives in Arcata, California. She first picked up a Greenland stick in December 2006 and never looked back. She enjoys open ocean paddling in her skin-on-frame qajaq and can be found playing off the northern California coastline and in the lagoons several times a week. She has pursued many water sports including synchronized swimming, scuba diving and diving. She is never far from water, and enjoys being underwater as much as being on the surface.

Helen works for a weekly newspaper, is the program assistant for Kayak Zaks and teaches rolling at the Arcata Community Pool. She is also the President of Explore North Coast (explorenorthcoast.net), Humboldt Counties Sea Kayaking Association, is on the organizing committee for Humboldt Bay Paddlefest (humboldtbaypaddlefest.com) and is a board member for the Humboldt State University Alumni Association (alumni.humboldt.edu), the school where she received her BA degree in English. She has done rolling demonstrations at several events as well as provided instruction. Helen has made an effort to learn the names of the rolls in Greenlandic, and her son, Alex, often calls them out for her during rolling demonstrations.

Helen competed in the 2008 Greenland National Kayaking Championship, and received first place in individual rolling, group rolling and the distance harpoon throw. She found her experiences in Greenland to be life changing, and wishes to share them with others. For more information about Helen or the 2008 Greenland National Kayaking Championship, visit greenlandorbust.org.