Ghost Ships Festival is emerging from the fog of time and is sailing into the Inn on Maritime Bay, in Manitowoc.

Then join us at the Inn on Maritime Bay in Manitowoc on Friday, March 1st and Saturday, March 2nd for Wisconsin’s 18th Ghost Ships Festival.  This year’s event features Presentations about new shipwreck discoveries on the Lakes, exhibits about Great Lakes shipwrecks, maritime history, maritime archeology and scuba diving as well as Virtual 3D Great Lakes Shipwreck Tours.

Over 30 sponsors and exhibitors will have booths, exhibits and presentations as well as merchandise for sale and opportunities for the public to participate in fieldwork & research.

The event will culminate in a presentation by Great Lakes historian Dan Fountain about his discovery of the wreck of the steamer Arlington on Lake Superior, which made national headlines last week.

The Ghost Ships Festival is brought to you by the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association, a 501c3 non-profit educational organization that provides opportunities for the public to assist in finding and documenting Wisconsin shipwrecks.  The Festival is also sponsored by the new Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Santuary, the Wisconsin Historical Society Maritime Archeology Program and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, which is next door to the hotel and offering reduced admission to Ghost Ships attendees.

Tickets for the full two-day event are $25 at the door or $20 if you pre-register online.  People 18 and under will be admitted for free.  Pre-registration is encouraged and can be done online at www.ghostshipsfestival.com.

The following is the schedule of events:

Friday, March 1st, 2024

8:00 AM – 4PM: Visual Cylinder Inspection Course – Scuba Cylinder Inspection Certification Course – Greg Such – contact Greg at 815.378.8152 to enroll.

6:00PM: Exhibition & Vendor space open to the public

6:30PM: Welcome to Ghost Ships – Brendon Baillod, Kevin Cullen, Russ Green

7:00 PM: Wayne Lusardi, Michigan State Underwater Archeologist:  Lake Huron Red Tails! The Tuskegee Airmen Project

8:00PM: Lee Murdock, Great Lakes Maritime Musician & Storyteller: Live Musical Performance

9:00PM – Midnight: Social Gathering in the Hotel Bar

Saturday, March 2, 2024

8:30 AM: Exhibition & Vendor space open to the public

9:00 AM: Roundtable Discussion: Using 3D Photogrammetry for Documentation and Interpretation of Shipwrecks – Panelists: Ken Merryman, Stefan McDaniel, Andrew Goodman, Zach Whitrock

10:00 AM: Kendra Kennedy, Underwater Archeologist, Wisconsin Historical Society: Protecting Ships, Shipwrecks and Maritime Cultural Landscapes

11:00 AM: Caitlin Zant, Underwater Archeologist, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary: Two Years Before the Mast: Shipwrecks, Heritage, and the Future in the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Noon: Lunch – Catered Box Lunch available for purchase

1:00 PM: Ken Merryman & Jerry Eliason: The Search for and Discovery of the Henry Steinbrenner

2:00 PM: Brendon Baillod & Robert Jaeck: Discovery and Documentation of the Schooner Trinidad – A Case Study in Managing Shipwreck Finds

3:00 PM: Yvonne Drebert & Zack Melnick, Inspired Planet Productions: All Too Clear: Using ROVs to Explore the Great Lakes

4:00 PM: Dan Fountain: He Went Down with His Ship: The Discovery of the Steamer Arlington

5:00 PM: WUAA Awards the Dr. Richard J. Boyd Award for Contributions in Great Lakes Maritime Archeology

5:30 PM – Midnight: Social Gathering in the Hotel Bar