Aye, aye captain

Peering out from his boat slip at the Muscle Shoals Sailing Club, Andrew Putnam sees more than just the placid water of Wilson Lake.

For the 20-year-old Florence native, the waters of the Tennessee River are somewhat of a second home.

"Sailing is my passion," he said. "The feeling I get around the water can't be explained. I feel like I belong around the water. It's where I want to be."

An avid outdoorsman, Putnam, a Wilson High School graduate and Northwest-Shoals student, was first introduced to sailing by his grandfather when he was five years old.

"He would take me out to sail radio-controlled boats," he said. "It was my first real exposure to the water. It was just fun."

It wasn't until his teenage years, however, that Putnam developed the passion he has for sailing today.

After attending a one-week sailing camp organized by the Boy Scouts of America when he was 15, Putnam enrolled in a training seminar given through the Muscle Shoals Sailing Club.

The seminar, offered annually during the summer, is designed to introduce beginners to the rules and etiquette of sailing, while teaching the basic principles of handling a boat.

"I took to it instantly," he said. "The people instructing the seminar really knew what they were doing. I loved it, and haven't looked back since."

Not long after completing the seminar, Putnam invested in his first sailboat, a 22-foot vessel that he used to get himself comfortable with being on the water alone.

Putnam's interest in sailing didn't go unnoticed by the members of the club. By age 18 he was a full-fledged member of the club, getting invitations to join other sailors for competitive races in the Shoals and abroad.

"It took me about six months to get comfortable enough to sail alone," he said. "After that I began to get offers to crew for races. Racing has been an amazing learning experience for me. Every time I'm on the water I learn something new."

After gaining a reputation as a formidable racing sailor Putnam accepted an invitation to sail with Skipper Joel Ver Plank and his crew in the Ensign One-Design race, as part of the 2009 Cleveland Race Week at the Edgewater Yacht Club in Ohio.

A one-design race pits crews of four against one another on a "down-and-back" course marked by buoys and a start/finish line. Uniquely, each crew races the exact same boat, leveling the competition.

"One-design races offer a very even playing field," Putnam said. "Each crew has the same equipment, with the same conditions. It offers very intense competition."

Putnam, along with Tommy Rogers, of Texas, represented the Muscle Shoals Sailing Club at Edgewater, crewing for Ver Plank on his boat, Green Dolphin.

The group finished in fourth place in a field of eight boats, the result being good enough to qualify the crew for the National Invitational in New York in August.

While a fourth place finish in such a big event is nice, Putnam says he and his crewmates have greater expectations for the event in New York.

"We want to win," he said. "A top three or five finish would be good, but winning would be great. We know what to expect this time, so if we go out and execute we should be fine."

David Murphy, who saw Putnam through to the rank of Eagle Scout as his youth Scoutmaster, said it comes as no surprise that Putnam has found a successful home on the water.

"Andrew is an exceptional young man," Murphy said. "His dedication to the outdoors is very evident in the fact that he achieved Eagle Scout status. It takes a very special person to accomplish what he has, and the ease with which he has done it says everything about him as a person."

Racing is an adventure that he enjoys, but Putnam gets just as much enjoyment from his recreational days on the water. With a fairly new 31-footer in his slip at the sailing club he sees many days on the water ahead.

"I love racing, but I love sailing as a hobby more," he said. "I will compete for as long as I can, but I will sail for as long as I'm alive."