DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — Last week, the discovery of the FJ King schooner, which sank nearly 130 years ago off Cana Island, was announced. Now, citizen scientists who made the discovery are sharing their experience, including a virtual look at the wreck.
Dan Kleewein says when he signed up for a citizen scientist tour this summer, he never expected to actually find a ship.
"Not going out with expectations to finding it, although Brendon [Baillod] thought, maybe, maybe," Dan Kleewein said.
While out with the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association, he was the first to spot the 'Ghost Ship' schooner.
"All of a sudden, broken timbers and the side of a ship came into view, and oh boy, I screamed out, 'I got a wreck, I got a wreck,'" Kleewein said.
Using sonar and other technology, they became the first to lay eyes on the FJ King schooner nearly 130 years after it sank in Lake Michigan.
"It was just a phenomenal experience with the excitement of everybody on the boat," Kleewein said.
Kleewein and other WUAA members gathered at the Door County Maritime Museum on Wednesday to discuss the discovery and allow others to experience it virtually through an Oculus VR headset.
For Lisa Gibson, it was an experience she couldn’t pass up.
"Oh, this was a no-brainer to me," Lisa Gibson said.
Gibson joined the second of two citizen scientist tours to the wreck, unaware at the time that the ship had already been discovered.
"He wanted us to be, not surprised, but have that wow moment when we went over it," Gibson said.
Both say that when the WUAA offers this experience again, they’ll be among the first to board the boat.
Seeing the shipwreck through the headset was an incredible experience; it felt like you were walking right on the deck of the FJ King.
