"The hardest part was watching my family." Jessica Watson on having her life turned into a Netflix movie.

It's been 13 years since Jessica Watson sailed out of Sydney harbour on her bright pink boat. 

That day, in October 2009, the 16-year-old hugged her parents goodbye in front of crowds as she set off to become the youngest person to complete a solo, unassisted and non-stop trip around the world. 

Watson would go on to spend the next 210 days completely alone with nothing but her boat, Ella's Pink Lady, protecting her from the unrelenting sea. 

She would survive storms, six-metre swells and seven knock downs before she finally sailed back to Sydney in May 2010.

Now, over a decade on, the 29-year-old is watching her journey play out in Netflix's new film True Spirit, and reliving everything that came with it. 

The adventure.

The moments of fear.

And the emotional toll on her family.

"That's the part that's really full on," Watson told Mamamia. 

"It's not so much [watching back] the storm scenes and the drama, but seeing the emotion on the other side of that, that's a lot."

Watch the trailer for Netflix's True Spirit. Post continues below. 

In one scene in the film, we watch as Watson's parents and siblings are left visibly distraught thinking she didn't make it, after her phone line falls silent when her boat is flipped and submerged several feet underwater during a storm. 

"It's probably a really good thing for me to actually have to comprehend this horrible thing I put my family through," said Watson, who is played by Aussie actor Teagan Croft in the film. 

"It's pretty full on to see that played out."

For those 210 days while Watson was at sea, her parents waited and worried back at their Queensland home. 

During that time, even looking at the ocean was "too emotional" for her father, Roger.

"I couldn't drive up to the headland and look out to sea when she had first gone," he told 60 Minutes at the time. 

"It was far too much for me."

It's an experience her family have also had to relive when watching the film. 

"It's a lot for them," the 29-year-old told Mamamia. "They've all seen it other than my brother at the moment... it's a lot of real emotion."

Watson said her parents have also had to get used to the idea of having actors portray them and such a major moment in their lives on screen. 

"They are super awkward about it," she said."It's really weird and uncomfortable to be portrayed. I think I've kind of let go of that - it is what it is. But for them it's pretty new and crazy."

Image: Netflix.

The film, based on her 2010 memoir of the same name, follows Watson as she sets out on her voyage - despite heavy criticism from the media - and navigates some of the world’s most challenging stretches of ocean. 

With the support of her sailing coach and mentor Ben Bryant (played by Cliff Curtis) and her parents (played by Josh Lawson and Academy Award winner Anna Paquin), the 16-year-old defies those who expect her to fail and returns home a national hero.

For Teagan Croft, playing Watson during her seven-month voyage at sea meant she had to get used to the cold and wet. 

"I was winging because my socks were wet," she joked, adding she enjoyed pretending "that you're doing these crazy feats in the middle of the ocean when in reality is completely safe".

To replicate the voyage, Croft filmed in a number of sets, including an indoor set depicting the cabin of the boat and another that resembled the outside of a boat which was suspended on a crane 20 metres in the air. 

She also filmed some scenes on her very own 'actor boat', which was painted bright pink to resemble Watson's boat, in the water.

The film crew also had to get creative when it came to replicating the movement of the boat, which saw Croft film in a set of the "side view of the cabin" which was attached to a "huge wheel". 

"I was strapped into the bed and they turned me on the wheel to stimulate the boat turning... it was crazy."

Image: Netflix.

For Croft, the most important aspect of Watson's story she wanted to capture was the 29-year-old's love of sailing. 

"I asked [Watson] why she did it and she didn't give me a good answer to be honest," Croft joked, before explaining she quickly came to understand the love of sailing herself, despite having no experience. 

"I found a surprising love of sailing, just the precision and... finding the optimal angle and [thinking] 'how am I going to go through these winds?' It's a real strategic game."

She also wanted to capture just how important the relationship is between a sailor and boat when they are out in the middle of the ocean for months on end. 

"The love of pink I think was [also] the most important thing for me," she said, adding that she too "felt a connection to my actor boat". 

"Pink really is the star of the show she got through so, so much. And pink and Jess' relationship is the central relationship and the core of the film."

As the film premiered on Netflix, Watson, was excited for people to learn more about the sailing community, who is represented by the character of Ben, a fictional amalgamation of a number of people in Watson's life.

"I think he represents how warm and inviting the sailing community is and how they are all quite tough... Cliff did such a great job of representing an entire community just by himself," she said. 

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Looking back on her around-the-world voyage, Watson, who lost her partner Cameron Dale last year, told Mamamia in 2019, it remains "such a special and unique time" of her life. 

While she has gone on to do a lot of things since then - including writing two books, becoming a United Nations Youth Ambassador and working at a Melbourne accounting firm - Watson still loves sailing, only now she says it’s more of a hobby. 

"I think people think I take it [sailing] quite seriously but really my favourite thing to do is to get out and have a bit of fun."

As for another voyage, Watson said, "I would absolutely love to sail around the world again, I’m not sure if I would do it solo next time."

True Spirit is now streaming on Netflix.

Feature Image: Netflix/Mamamia.