“Whaling Captains of Color: America’s First Meritocracy” will be presented in a live virtual book lecture by author Skip Finley and host Duncan Oliver for the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth on May 13 at 7 p.m.

Finley, who lives on Martha’s Vineyard, has written a comprehensive account of the more than 50 sailors of color who rose to captain America’s great whaling ships. To write the book, Finley worked with archival records at whaling museums, in libraries, from private archives and through interviews with people whose ancestors were whaling masters.

One registration per household is required at www.hsoy.org for the free event.