Shipwrecks, although awful in their reality, become through the ages mythical events. Majestic storms, pirates, the mysterious cargo forever lost at the bottom of the sea, combined with the individual narratives, so many strands of stories played out both on deck and at home where widows walk; there’s a reason movies and books abound with shipwreck stories.

The Island is no stranger to these tales, either, and on Thursday, July 19, Arne Carr, a former senior marine biologist, will give a talk at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum as part of its summer shipwrecks lecture series. With his business partner John Perry Fish, he also founded American Underwater Search and Survey, which specializes in finding submerged objects all over the world.

In other words, Mr. Carr is on familiar terms with what lurks in Davey Jones’ locker.

Mr. Carr will speak to the ship disasters that have occurred off the coast of the Island in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibit Out of the Depths: Martha’s Vineyard Shipwrecks. In particular he will focus on a few that have occurred on the southern entrance to Vineyard Sound including the rumrunner John Dwight. Mr. Carr will also share stories from his dives near the wreck of the City of Columbus.

The talk begins at 5:30 p.m. at the museum. For more information, visit mvmuseum.org.