When Matthew Temple returns to Northeast High next month, he'll have a one-of-a-kind summer vacation tale to share with his classmates.

The 16-year-old from Pasadena, a rising sophomore at Northeast, left yesterday for Pensacola, Fla., joining the crew of the USCG James Rankin to assist with cleanup of the Gulf Coast oil spill.

The Rankin, a 175-foot buoy tender stationed at the Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard, sailed down to the Gulf on June 18. Its 26 crew members, most of whom are from the Baltimore area, have spent the last month sifting through the aftermath of the BP oil spill, the worst in U.S. history.

The Rankin...