Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast Friends

10/12/2026

Last week was a great week on the water for NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. With four successful days on the water, divers visited six shipwrecks! FRANCIS HINTON, NIAGARA, CONTINENTAL, S.C. BALDWIN, I.A. JOHNSON, and ALGOMA.

While most of the photos and 3D photogrammetry models of these sites will be processed once the field season is wrapped up, here are a few shots of the ALGOMA, which lays on the lake bottom at ~80ft. Divers reported some of the best visibility they've ever seen, with them able to see the entire wreck while floating at just 40ft of depth.

10/08/2026

If you've been following, NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary divers have been on the water! 🌊

While Tuesday was a weather day, Wednesday they headed straight south to the shipwreck NIAGARA. 🚤🛟

This week's objectives are not only to get photos and scientific data on each of the wrecks we are visiting, but also to make sure our divers are comfortable in their closed circuit rebreather (CCR) dive equipment. And, since it's the end of the season, we had to pick up some buoys on the way home. 🤿🧜

The underwater photos haven't been processed yet, but here are a few photos from the dive operations Wednesday!

10/07/2026

Thank you all for guessing which wreck NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary divers were at on Monday!! One of you got it right, we were moored at the site of FRANCIS HINTON. ⚓ 🤿

If you are interested in seeing what else our divers are up to this week, follow along for more updates!! 📰

Now here's a little history about FRANCIS HINTON:
FRANCIS HINTON was built as a wooden steam barge in 1889 by Hanson & Scove in Manitowoc for use in the lumber trade, measuring just over 150 ft in length. The vessel was caught in heavy seas off Manitowoc on November 16, 1909, the quickly rising water extinguishing the boilers. The captain decided to anchor in an attempt to wait out the storm, but eventually, the waves became too much and the vessel could no longer stay in its position. The anchor line was cut in an attemp to save the cargo by allowing the vessel to be pushed to shore. FRANCIS HINTON broke into pieces as onlookers watched from dry land. Luckily, all crew was able to be saved by the Two Rivers lifesaving crew.

Today, FRANCIS HINTON lies in 15 feet of water, 2 miles north of Manitowoc Harbor. Much of the vessel’s hull remains in place, broken at the turn of the bilge, along with the vessel’s boiler and steeple compound engine (lying on their sides), propeller, and scattered pieces of broken machinery.

10/05/2026

What's happening in your sanctuary this week? ⚓🛟⛵

NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary stopped by a few wrecks already today... Can you guess which wreck we are on currently? 🚢🤷❓🧐

Stay tuned to find out!

10/02/2026

What a great time with MateROV! Thank you Visit Sheboygan for the great classroom space! NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary is hoping to bring more MateRov educators workshops to Wisconsin to support blue science!!! 💙 🧪 💙 🧪

09/30/2026

It's always a great day to talk about shipwrecks!

⛵ ⚓ 🛟

NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary staff recently attended Harbor Fest 2026 in Milwaukee! The team talked to over 800 people about the sanctuary, underwater archaeology, and the amazing science being conducted close to home. See you next year, Harbor Fest!

09/25/2026

Looking for something to do along Wisconsin's Shipwreck Coast?? There are FIVE great exhibits on maritime history throughout the region!

NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary has helped develop new and engaging exhibits with partner intuitions where you can learn all about the sanctuary, shipwrecks, and more!

You can find these exhibits at:

🛟 Wisconsin Maritime Museum (Manitowoc)
🛟 Visit Sheboygan (Sheboygan)
🛟 Rogers Street Fishing Village (Two Rivers)
🛟 Port Washington Historical Society (Port Washington)
🛟 S.S. Badger: Lake Michigan Carferry (Lake Michigan, between Manitowoc & Ludington)

Join us along Wisconsin's Shipwreck Coast! ⛵⚓

09/23/2026

Attention educators! There's still time to sign up for the Mate ROV Academy!

Interested in building ROVs and teaching your students how to build ROVs? Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary is partnering with Mate ROV to host the Mate ROV Academy on September 25 & 26 in Sheboygan! This Academy takes place at Visit Sheboygan and is FREE! It is designed to empower educators with the confidence and skills to begin leading classes of their own using the Pufferfish ROV kit.

To sign up, visit: https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/wisconsin/news/2026/mate-rov-academy.html

Come learn with us!

09/17/2026

06/08/2026

🛟⚓⛴ It’s time for a sanctuary buoy update! The first Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary buoys are in for the 2026 season!

Over the last two weeks, a team of NOAA divers and NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary staff were able to get out on the water to install a batch of mooring buoys for the 2026 season! The team successfully installed FIVE mooring buoys off Rawley Point and near Manitowoc. Additionally, local commercial diver and volunteer, Randy Wallander and a crew, were able to install an additional two mooring buoys, while a group of Port Washington divers (Roland Chaloupka, Eric Poggemann, and Mike Jajtner), supporting the sanctuary, installed three more mooring buoys off Port Washington! This brings the total installed buoy count in Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marina Sanctuary to ELEVEN:

✅ AMERICA
✅ Crawler Crane
✅ S.C. BALDWIN
✅ FLORETTA
✅ HOME
✅ GALLINIPPER
✅ ROUSE SIMMONS
✅ ALGOMA
✅ NORTHERNER
✅ MAHONING
✅ NIAGARA

The remaining surface mooring buoys are being installed over the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for more information and updates!

To see which mooring buoys are installed, and get some additional historic information on the wrecks, you can visit the NEW interactive shipwreck map on our website: https://shipwreckcoastfriends.org/interactive-shipwreck-map/

You can also download a printable buoy map here:https://d3gtt2hnmqg6ue.cloudfront.net/docs/NOAA_Buoy_Map26.3.pdf



[image credits: Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary]