Becoming Captain of a 70-200 foot yacht

becoming a captain

ok there are several options,
i just turned 21 and have been working on 70 - 80m yachts since i was 17, but i was convinced i wanted to work on a yacht at 14
you are still pretty young but if you feel that strong about it:

the best thing to do now is sail sail sail and sail, get your seamanship up to the highest standard, everything from knots to navigation to varnish.
you have to start from the bottom no way around it, all the great captains i have worked for started as deckhands and not through the merchant navy.
there is no way a yacht will employ you at your age unless you know somebody onboard so until you get a bit older you could find a job in the local boat yard helping out, or with the local rigger or sailmaker, having experience on this will put you on top of the pile of cv's
the other very important point is qualifications, nowadays you cant just become a deckhand you need to be qualified e.g. stcw, yachtmaster ect..
and last but not least, get your watersports and fishing up to scratch, you will shine through if you can waterski, wakeboard, sail, kitesurf...
consider doing some diving courses maybe even start working towards your divemaster.. try to hook up a gigs as a hand on a sports fishing boat

and at that age remember to ask for experience not pay!!
maybe you want to consider joining the sea cadets.
and remember to log EVERYTHING every single detail with personal notes and keep backups of it,

ps, sorry if my words are confusing im doing the 4 to 8 anchor watch in the gorda sound, new years, been sailing hobiecats with the boss all day, it really is the best career not an easy one but its mega fun,
send me a msg if you need more info!
APA

There is a lot of very good advice here.
Sea Scouts is a good avenue to learn stuff, and starting to document sea time. You can use sea time from experience gained on boats once you are 14 years or older.
Document it and keep it safe, you can go for a launch operator's license when you are 17.
http://www.seaschool.com/launch.html

If you are serious about wanting to be on the bigger yachts you would do well to go to one of the 4-year maritime academies, as these put you on track for the upper level licenses.