True Spirit, out now on Netflix, tells the story of the youngest woman to sail around the world. But as with so many based-on-a-true-story movies, plenty of fact is left behind for the glossy Hollywood sheen of fiction.
That being said, there are some films of true stories that hew very close to reality, and True Spirit is one of them. Jessica Watson, played by Titans' star Teagan Croft, did face many of the same hurdles and triumphs as she does in the film all aboard her trusty boat Ella’s Pink Lady.
As in the film, Watson was born in 1993 and spent most of her childhood in or around boats with her family, including her mother Julie (played by Anna Paquin) her father Roger (Josh Lawson) and her siblings Emily (Bridget Webb), Tom (Stacy Clausen), and Hannah (Vivien Turner).
She was inspired to sail around the globe solo, without assistance or interruption, by the story of another young sailor: Jesse Martin. When she was 12, Jessica's mother read her Martin's book Lionheart: A Journey of the Human Spirit.
As in the film, Jessica was hands-on involved in the preparation for her trip. Where the movie departs most dramatically from fact is in the creation of Jessica's sailing coach, Ben Bryant, played by Fear the Walking Dead and Avatar star Cliff Curtis.
He was inspired by a whole host of people who helped Jessica realise her dream. In a recent Instagram post, Jessica wrote: "The fictional character Ben is one of my favourite things about the movie. Ben represents a whole team of people.
"While there are many who so deserve their own character [Cliff Curtis] has beautifully captured the spirit of these men who were so determined to see a young girl take on the world and the way they are some of my best mates. Forever grateful to everyone who played a part in making the voyage possible!"
As far as the actual record goes, Jessica did not attain it. Despite sailing around the globe in 210 days on a 33-foot vessel, the World Speed Sailing Record Council categorises a full circumnavigation of the globe as being an orthodromic distance (great circle) of at least 21,600 nautical miles, of which she was short about 2,000 nautical miles (and at only 16 years old!).
Still, Jessica's feat was obviously impressive. And like the film depicts, there were really hundreds of thousands of people there to greet her when she landed back in Sydney 210 days after she set out.
In the film, Jessica is shown as being overwhelmed by surprise at the number of people who showed up to see her in. In real life, she told 60 Minutes Australia: "I expected a few people here to meet me, but what we got coming into harbour was just completely overwhelming."
It's unsurprising that people were impressed by her stamina. In the film, Jessica is shown sailing through unimaginably high waves and rough weather, which was all true.
In real life, she made it through seven of what are called knockdowns, which is when a boat is knocked on its side to 90 degrees or worse by wind or waves. In addition, she survived her boat being capsized and three monster low-pressure systems.
If you want to watch her journey without the sensationalism (albeit minor, in this case) of fiction, there is also a documentary called 210 Days, narrated by Sir Richard Branson. Watson also wrote a book about her journey called True Spirit: The Aussie girl who took on the world.
True Spirit is now available to watch on Netflix.
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