**PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A VIRTUAL PROGRAM THAT WILL TAKE PLACE VIA ZOOM. Registrants will receive a link to access the Zoom Webinar via email.**

The ocean waters off of Massachusetts have been called the Graveyard of the North Atlantic with over 3,000 wrecks here since European sailors first began exploring the shores of the western Atlantic. Because of the hazards experienced by early coastal and trans-Atlantic shipping while sailing these waters, Massachusetts was the 18th century birthplace of the modern United States Coast Guard. Advances in navigation, weather forecasting, response resources, and vessel technology over the past two centuries may have reduced the risks but have not eliminated them. Learn about some of the historic shipwrecks that have occurred south and east of Massachusetts, their causes, and the evolution of response resources and programs. Led by Greg Ketchen, a retired U.S. Coast Guard Captain and President of the Coast Guard Heritage Museum in Barnstable.

Register directly on Zoom HERE. Presented in collaboration with the Ashland Library.

RECORDING NOTE: This program will be recorded. All registrants will receive the recording via email within 48 hours of the program.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTE: The Tewksbury Public Library does not discriminate on the basis of disability and is committed to providing a reasonable modification to participate in our events, services or documentation. Contact Director Diane Giarrusso at 978-640-4490 or dgiarrusso@tewksbury-ma.gov at least two weeks before an event to arrange for modification, or at any time you need accessible documents.