Watson’s historic solo sail hits the screen

In 2010, Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail around the world solo, non-stop and unassisted.

At just 16, the Queensland schoolgirl spent 210 days at sea battling six-metre swells before pulling into Sydney Harbour where she was met by thousands of supporters and hailed an Australian hero by then-prime minister Kevin Rudd.

One of those cheering fans was a then six-year-old Teagan Croft, who would go on to play the teenage sailor in Netflix’s new film about Watson’s remarkable journey which debuts on February 3rd.

The film is based on Watson’s 2010 memoir of the same name and charts Watson’s journey around the globe, including the media backlash she received and worldwide attention her pursuit attracted.

Note: The World Sailing Speed Record Council administers sailing record attempts, and their policy does not observe age-based records. Additionally, the official round the world course requires a global circumnavigation must have an orthodromic distance of 21,600 nautical miles and Watson’s journey did not meet this requirement.

Teagan Croft (left) and Jessica Watson