A Motor Lifeboat crashing through the surf along the cliffs at Cape Disappointment, Wash. The blade wash on the water surface as a rescue swimmer dangles from an MH-60 Dolphin helicopter. High-speed maneuvers off Miami. The winners of the Coast Guard’s 2009 Photo Contest show the guardians at their best.

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Click here to watch a slideshow of the winning photos. Mobile users, watch the slideshow on YouTube.

See the photos on Flickr.

In this issue:

‘We’re waiting for the oil’
Coast Guard Photo Contest winners
Port for two teen solo-circumnavigators
Tom Neale’s ICW Log: Part III