Becoming Captain of a 70-200 foot yacht

I hope this won't put you off, but education and connections are the keys. Plan on going to a good maritime college. Word from you local congressperson could help with admission so send him a letter or e-mail introducing yourself and keep in touch so you're known when the time comes. You're a bit young for a job yet, but maybe you could volunteer at your local sailing club or Yacht Club helping to teach younger kids during the summer.

Start working now to learn anything and everything you can about boats, their systems and how to maintain them. Learn to varnish, wash and wax, maintain teak decks, tie knots, scuba dive, etc..

Take every chance you get to go on a boat. Even if it's just a day trip. Start getting time on power boats and keep a log of all your trips. Be sure to include the registration information of each boat.

Get a summer or weekend job at a marina.

Learn to navigate, learn how radar works, etc.. There are DVDs and online courses for a lot of this.

All good advice, but some of it may have to wait a summer or two.

Serious, yes. Hands on, No. I was 6 when I started. Most of all, keep it fun.

I don't see why. There is nothing I mentioned that a motivated 14 year old could not at least start to learn to do.

He can get working papers at age 14 in most states, including North Carolina (as his stated location indicates).

http://www.nclabor.com/wh/fact sheets/joint_state_fed.htm

That can get him to work in a local marina, being a helper at least, or working a gas dock - lots of experience tying and untying, as well as experiencing boating personalities in some interesting situations. At the very least, he can get some good "how not to..." stories.

You've got several good marinas in Myrtle Bch. although you won't find much sail action. There's also Georgetown and Southport (depending if your north or south) where you will find more sail, as well as find more fishing and some larger boats. I'll PM you a site where you can get marina info.

There is indeed a lot of sail action in the western L.I.Sound as in Annapolis, but both might be hard to get to for an almost 14 year old from N.C. That's why I suggested areas near where he'll be. At 14 I don't believe he's allowed to mess with motors, chemicals or any situations that pose a potential danger. In my PM I gave some suggestions on getting the "who you know" situation in hand. Also, the marinas around his area can generally use a kid to bring ice, etc. and he'll gain 'see & hear' experience as well as make some connections. He says he's "had a lot of sailing experience with my family's multiple under 20 foot sailboats", but Pascal's idea of buying a little something of his own is not bad. It'd be his responsibility to maintain and fix it and could gain him experience that he either can't legally get or that employers may be hesitant to pay him to get. When I was a little younger than he is now I was over the shoulder of and handing wrenches to my friends older brothers as they worked on motors, boats and cars. I was also building small prams and running a 14 footer everywhere I could find trouble to get into.

Sailing is fun and a good learning tool. But unless he intends on just captaining big sailboats, and even if that is true, it's time he starts spending some time on power boats as well.

That's primarily what he'll find in his area.

You might have noticed your location posted. That's why we're trying to direct advice to your area. The guys you're talking with here have been through the area several if not many times.
Boats do in fact get much more complicated with size. First we crawl, then we walk, finally we run. Good luck.

Wow - My wife laughs at me ever time I say this but I thought some one should mention it. I was a Sea scout. The boat I was on was one of the biggest in the Sea Scout fleet in Puget sound. It was a old mine sweeper. Don't remember the year but it was 75' -ugly old wood hull with a single diesel. You should check to see if there is a group by you. You will learn alot from being in Sea scouts. Hands on repairs to working out of books. Here was a recent ad that I saw. PM me and I will give you the phone number and maybe they can locate a group by you.

Everett Sea Scouts is looking for boat donations and new recruits. The Sea Scouts is a 100 yr old division of the Boy Scouts. Looking for new recruits 14-20 yrs old- co-ed. Adult volunteers needed, too!