Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association - WUAA

19/10/2026

That's a wrap on another WUAA Symposium! ⚓

Thank you to everyone who joined us this Saturday at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum for a great day of history and 2026 field season recaps. Stay tuned for projects into the 2027 season and beyond! 👀

Huge thanks to all of our speakers, including NOAA's Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Wisconsin Historical Society, and Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc., to the WMM for hosting, and to everyone who came out to connect!

Check out a few photos from the day below 📸

23/09/2026

It's time again for the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association's Fall Symposium. This year's event will be held at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum on Saturday, October 17th and will run the full day.
Registration will be available online at www.wuaa.org in the WUAA store.
Presentation schedule attached may be updated.

05/09/2026

02/09/2026

Wisconsin Public Radio recently featured our 2026 search for 𝘗𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩, a 213-foot schooner barge lost in the Great Storm of 1913.

While the current location of 𝘗𝘭𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 remains a mystery (for now), the team mapped new search grids off Washington Island and clarified official coordinates for a few known wrecks in the area.

Huge thanks to WPR, Captain Stiles Meredith, and all our dedicated citizen scientists who made this search possible! 📰⚓

Read the full story and view the photo gallery here:
https://www.wpr.org/culture/wisconsin-citizen-scientists-searching-shipwrecks-plymouth

14/07/2026

🎶 We have a brand new WUAA anthem! 🎶

Great Lakes historian Ric Mixter, who joined WUAA on our search for 𝑃𝑙𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ, produced a new song and video project for the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association, and we think it's the perfect earworm for shipwreck-searching... 🔍

So, turn up the volume and check out the track on YouTube ⬇
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZvcv7bvbsU&t=90s

A massive thanks to Ric Mixter for creating such incredible work on this project!

Ric Mixter joins the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association fo...

27/06/2026

Yesterday marked the official kickoff of our citizen science expedition out of Washington Island! The team is searching for the final resting place of the historic schooner PLYMOUTH, which was lost in 1913.

We’re already back out on the water for Day 2, so stay tuned for updates! Check out a few shots from yesterday's search. 📷 👇

20/06/2026

This crew took to the classroom (and the water) to master WUAA’s Chasing M2 Pro Max ROV during our ROV training course!

Participants gained hands-on experience navigating the software and practicing underwater piloting. With these new skills, trained members are prepared to operate WUAA ROVs on research projects and shipwreck searches! 🌊

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, and to WUAA President and Instructor Brendon Baillod for a great day on the water. Check out some photos from the training below!

08/06/2026

A great crew joined WUAA to learn foundational underwater archaeology methods in our Shipwreck Documentation Class on May 30th!

Under guidance by expert Russell Leitz, attendees learned site surveying, trilateration, and artifact sketching. Thank you to everyone who came out to sharpen their fieldwork skills!

Check out the action, sketches, and highlights from the day below. We'd like to extend a huge thanks to Cassie Ballschmidt, who took many of these wonderful photos!

📷: Cassie Ballschmidt

22/05/2026

ATTENTION HISTORY BUFFS & CITIZEN SCIENTISTS: Help solve a 113-year-old Great Lakes mystery!

The Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association is launching a public citizen science expedition to find the Plymouth, a massive schooner that vanished during the Great Storm of 1913. We are chartering The Shoreline out of Jackson Harbor on Washington Island for the search.

To give as many people as possible a chance to join the search, registration is strictly limited to ONE DAY per person.

When: Friday, June 26th OR Saturday, June 27th, 2026.
Where: Washington Island, Door Peninsula (Jackson Harbor Departure)
Cost: $125 per person
You must book your own passage on the Washington Island Ferry ($46 for an adult + vehicle). Check the schedule here: https://wisferry.com/washington-island/

Registration is officially LIVE on the WUAA website! Spots are first-come, first-served, so secure your seat on the charter soon. Learn more here: https://www.wuaa.org/index.php/projects/plymouth-search-project

For more details or questions about the fieldwork, contact WUAA Project and Fieldwork Chairperson Emily Roth at [email protected].

Tickets for 6/26: https://www.wuaa.org/index.php/store/Plymouth-Search-Project-Friday-6-26-p752781539
Tickets for 6/27: https://www.wuaa.org/index.php/store/Plymouth-Search-Project-Saturday-6-27-p752779301

📷: C. Patrick Labadie Collection