True Spirit, a new film that began streaming on Netflix today, is the type of film that makes you realize you’re not living your life to the fullest. Because if 16-year-old Jessica Watson can circumnavigate the globe by herself, what’s our justification for not washing the dishes for the third consecutive day?
Actual Spirit, written and directed by Sarah Spillane, is based on the true story of 16-year-old Jessica Watson, who was determined to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world. Jessica is portrayed by Australian actor Teagan Croft, and her mother, Julie, is portrayed by Oscar-winner Anna Paquin. And, as the compulsory credit sequence of real-life footage will attest, yes, this did actually occur.
Continue reading to learn more about the True Spirit true story and Jessica Watson’s actual journey to sail around the world.
Is the film True Spirit based on an actual event?
Yes. Actual Spirit is based on the true story of Australian sailor Jessica Watson, who at the age of 16 became the youngest person to sail solo around the world. The film True Spirit is based on Watson’s 2010 memoir of the same name about her experience.
What is the actual plot of The True Spirit?
As seen in the film, Jessica Watson, now 29 years old, was born into a family of seafarers. Her parents, New Zealanders Roger and Julie Watson, gave sailing lessons to all four of their children at an early age, and eventually relocated the entire family to a yacht for several years.
In spite of the fact that the World Speed Sailing Record Council had removed the “youngest” category when 18-year-old Jesse Martin circumnavigated the globe in 1999, Watson was determined to surpass his record. Watson prepared for a solo sailing expedition around the world with the assistance of her parents and management, and set sail from Sydney on October 18, 2009. On May 15, 2010, after a seven-month journey, she returned to Sydney, where she was greeted by a cheering audience. But it was not simple. During Watson’s testing voyage, her sailboat crashed with a 63,000-ton bulk carrier and lost its mast, as depicted in the film.
Watson sailed alone for approximately 23,000 nautical miles: through the South Pacific and across the equator, south to Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America, through the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean, and around southern Australia. According to the Sailing Record Council’s guidelines, Watson technically did not circumnavigate the globe because she did not travel far enough north. The Guardian reported in 2010 that Watson’s crew responded to critics by stating that, since the Council wasn’t going to accept her sail as a world record, she didn’t really need to follow the Council’s guidelines, did she?
Watson’s meteoric rise to fame in the sailing community was unimpeded by the presence of a few pedantic critics. Throughout her voyage, she maintained a popular blog on which hundreds of commenters cheered her on. Her return was broadcast on national television, and thousands of people greeted her and her distinctive sailboat, Ella’s Pink Lady, upon their return. In 2012, she was granted a Medal of the Order of Australia, as seen in the film.
While some alterations were made for the film, writer/director Sarah Spillane sought to keep True Spirit as faithful as possible to Watson’s actual trip. In an interview for the True Spirit press notes, Spillane stated, “During my research, which began in 2014, I spent a great deal of time with Jessica Watson.” I traveled to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland with Jess so that I could meet her family during one of my multiple trips to Australia. And as a result of spending this time with Jessica and her family, we became great friends, which was incredibly beneficial as I entered the writing and development phase, since I could call or text them for advice.
Watson is really pleased with the accuracy of the film. In an interview with Tudum, Watson remarked, “It’s incredible how precise some things are, how they nailed down the exact same instruments from 13 years ago and all my plush toys and such. It’s really strange that some things have been duplicated with such precision.”
»How 16-Year-Old Sailor Jessica Watson Inspired the Netflix Film “True Spirit”«