Thunder Bay NMS

Please stay tuned for more details about the July 21-23 Maritime Festival of Sail, including the schedule for live music and kids' entertainment!

The three-day festival in Alpena is free and will include tall ships, science vessels, live music, kids' activities, food trucks, helicopter rides, the world's largest rubber duck, and much more. Shipboard tours and day sails aboard tall ships will be available for an extra fee.

The sanctuary is excited to announce that this year's Thunder Bay Maritime Festival will be combined with the Festival of Sail and will be held on July 21-23 at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, Michigan.

On July 4 the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center will remain free and open to everyone, with opportunities to explore 10,000 square feet of interactive exhibits and cruise through Shipwreck Alley aboard the glass bottom boat Lady Michigan.

🧵 #DYK @NOAA has a partnership with @VikingCruises? While Viking cruise ships sail the #GreatLakes, NOAA research & science is taking place onboard to help advance our mission. Yesterday a NOAA weather balloon was successfully launched from the Viking Octantis in #LakeSuperior!

Interested in Freshwater #Acidification? Join us tomorrow for our FREE Sanctuary Lecture Series -Harmful Algal Blooms and Freshwater Acidification in the Great Lakes as Dr. Reagan Errera of @NOAA_GLERL shares the research happening at TBNMS in partnership with @OA_NOAA and GLERL.

This year, students aboard LADY MICHIGAN’s classroom cruises will have the chance to take part in the action! #CitSci

April is #CitizenScienceMonth and we are gearing up for another successful season of freshwater #acidification monitoring in Lake Huron. Last summer, Michigan public school teachers and students helped TBNMS researchers collect water samples from shipwrecks in the sanctuary.

The FREE Sanctuary Lecture Series continues on Thursday, March 16, 7pm with Dr. John O'Shea and Continuing Archaeological Research on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge. See you then! IMAGE: Divers documenting an area of the Alpena-Amberley Ridge in Lake Huron. Photo courtesy John O’Shea

A new discovery has been made in @ThunderBayNMS! Watch our #EarthIsBlue video to learn about Ironton, a shipwreck that has been located after 125 years. Learn more about this discovery: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/mar23/iro…

It's almost time for #filmfestival! In partnership with the International Ocean Film Festival, the Thunder Bay International Film Festival showcases some of the most impressive ocean and Great Lakes films from around the world. Get your tickets now! thunderbayfriends.org

Calling all 5th through 12th grade students! NOAA has launched the “Picture Climate Change'' student photo contest and is looking for images showing climate change in the United States. Submissions due February 15, 2023. More details: noaa.gov/student-photo-…

Why model the movement of fish larvae? Alewife is a primary food source for stocked salmon in the #GreatLakes, supporting a multi-billion dollar recreational fishery. Understanding alewife distribution in the lakes will ultimately help improve fishery management. 📸: @USFWS

Whether you're up for a surf trip, scuba diving in a new place, taking the family camping, or having a peaceful retreat along the coast - no matter how you define a good adventure, there’s something for you in a national marine sanctuary. Get inspired: sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/jul22/enj…

Michigan’s “Shipwreck Alley” holds 200 years of stories about Great Lakes shipping from countless sailors and passengers. This is the story of the steamer Choctaw, from its final voyage to discovery on the lakebed about 100 years later. #SaveSpectacular sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may22/exp…

Tune in tonight, 5-7pm for a livestream in the theater of sanctuary visitor center from the Valor of the Atlantic!

LIVE from @MonitorNMS right now!!

🚨Dive Alert!🚨 We are descending on 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 right now to get a second look a this iconic vessel! What differences will we see from last week's dive? Tune in and see for yourself! Perfect dinner conversation starter: youtube.com/watch?v=Vk1HPE… 📸GFOE/NOAA #allwrecks

This week, three smart moorings were redeployed in Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The moorings transmit real-time wind, wave and water temperature information to help boaters plan for a safe day on the water. #NationalSafeBoatingWeek seagull.glos.org/landing

Today in 1897: the steamer FLORIDA sank in a collision with the GEORGE W. ROBY off Middle Island in Thunder Bay. The ship went down in deep water and was nearly cut in half by the collision. Today the FLORIDA sits upright on the lake bottom, still loaded with freight.