Skip Finley – Whaling Captains of Color: America’s First Meritocracy

Please join us for a lecture by Skip Finley, author of Whaling Captains of Color: America’s First Meritocracy. A lecture series sponsored by Mattapoisett Museum and Sippican Historical Society.

Skip Finley is a former broadcasting executive who was responsible for over 40 U.S. radio stations and experienced success in all areas of radio. Attempting retirement since age 50, he keeps returning to communications, currently in marketing at the Vineyard Gazette Media Group on Martha’s Vineyard, where he summered since 1955, deciding to become a writer. For five years Finley wrote the weekly Oak Bluffs Town Column and is a contributor to several publications in the areas of whaling and history.

“Much more than a prodigious work of scholarship, Whaling Captains of Color is also an entertaining read that puts the focus where it properly belongs: on the multicultural essence of a fishery that spanned the globe. Highly recommended.” —Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex

“Skip Finley provides a fascinating portrait of the turbulent and fraught world of the men of color who not only were whalemen, but also became leaders in one of America’s most iconic industries. Whaling Captains of Color is a most welcome and long overdue addition to the literature, and one which will hopefully spur others to dig deeper into this important aspect of whaling history.” —Eric Jay Dolin, author of Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America

This event is FREE but donations are always appreciated! Thank you for your continued generosity. 

• Donate to Mattapoisett Museum here
• Donate to Sippican Historical Society here

The Zoom link will be sent to you once registration is complete.

Contact Mattapoisett Museum at info@mattapoisettmuseum.org or Sippican Historical Society at info@sippicanhistoricalsociety.org for more details.

Mattapoisett Museum programs are supported in part by a grant from the Mattapoisett Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.