A large row boat crewed by half a dozen men sets out from the shore into the surf.
It's a one-minute short shot by the usually inept James H. White with Frederick Blechynden, his frequent cameraman. Apparently it is a Coast Guard boat, meant as part of their rescue service. The boat starts on the left-hand side of the frame and puts out, then the camera moves with a jerk and it's centered.
The only outside information I can locate about Mr. Blechynden is that his name is on the Australian War Memorial site. If it is he, he was a private in the Australian 11th Infantry, killed in action in France France on 16 April 1917.