There were four convict ships that arrived in Port Jackson, (Australia) in 1800 and some parts of the question depend on which ship you were on.

The default route would be the same as that followed by the First Fleet. From a British port to the Canary Islands, across to South America, at Rio de Janeiro, then sail east and south to Cape Town at the Cape of Good Hope and then sail east passing south of the southern coast of Australia until sighting Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) then following the east coast of Australia, sailing north until arriving at Port Jackson (Sydney). It usually included stopping at the ports listed, or ports in those vicinities, for fresh food and water. If possible, they would sail in convoy with other vessels such as Indiamen as far as Rio de Janeiro. If you look at a map it doesn’t seem the best route but these were sailing ships which needed fair winds. Good chronometers were expensive and rare which also meant that although they could be reasonably certain how far north or south they were (latitude) they had problems telling how far east or west they were (longitude). One method of navigation was to sail to the correct latitude and then sail along an easting using landmarks to confirm the longitude.

The trips could take over eight months but varied a lot with weather. The big problems were fresh water, scurvy (debilitating and eventually fatal Vitamin C deficiency), the poor health of many of the convicts when embarked, and weather. The ships were under contract (not naval vessels but civilian) Although the contracts were extremely detailed as to the provisions, accommodation and care of the convicts, and the ships were fitted out anew and inspected before each trip, there was difficulty monitoring the execution of these contracts during the journey and earlier ships had a lot of abuse of convicts recorded. The treatment of the convicts often depended on the characters of the ship’s captain and of the ship’s surgeon. After delivering convicts the ships would normally sail on to the East Indies where they were under separate contract to the East India Company to carry cargo for the return to Britain. As for the First Fleet, convicts’ wives and children could apply, to travel to Port Jackson and be victualed, at government expense, (but any return would be at their own cost).

The transports arriving in 1800 were:

The Minerva; Left Cork (Ireland) August 24, 1799 in convoy with the Friendship but separated because the Friendship was a slow sailor, and arrived at Port Jackson on January 11, 1800 in 140 days. She sailed with 26 female and 165 male prisoners including a number of Irish rebels who had their death sentences reprieved on condition of transport. She was chased and fired on by two ships with Portuguese flags on October 1. Although she had six prisoners die in port before she sailed she had only three die during the trip, an indication of the poor conditions the prisoners had been kept in on land (many had been in various prisons for long periods) and an indication that even at sea conditions were better.

The Friendship; Left Cork (Ireland) August 24, 1799 and arrived at Port Jackson on February 16, 1800 in 176 days. She sailed with 133 male prisoners of whom 19 died although the survivors were reported as healthy. The high death rate has been attributed to the poor health of the prisoners when embarked and that several were “aged”.

The Speedy; Left Spithead (Britain) November 20, 1799, in convoy with the Queen Charlotte and the Sans Pareil. Arrived at Port Jackson April 13, 1800 in 143 days with 53 female prisoners of whom 3 died of illness. Aboard as passengers she also carried Lieutenant-Governor King, his wife and daughter, and a female servant with a number of other passengers, including the botanist George Caley. They reached Madeira on December 7, and Tenerife on December 11 where they became becalmed. By mid December there was scabies among the convicts. They celebrated Christmas with the women convicts dancing for several hours. One of the female convicts who died left an infant child who was cared for. On February 3, 1800 they arrived at Table Bay and remained two weeks until departing on February 16, 1800. The botanist spent the time ashore collecting specimens. The doctor was hospitalised ashore (“declared mad”) and did not return to the ship. On March 15, 1800 one of the passengers drowned leaving a young wife who later took up with the botanist. On March 17, 1800 the ship suffered heavy seas requiring the convicts to be battened down under hot conditions . One broke her leg badly and another scalded her foot.

The Royal Admiral; Left Britain on 23 May 1800 and arrived at Port Jackson November 20, 1800 in 181 days, sailing with 300 male convicts of whom 43 died on the trip. Gaol fever came on board with the convicts and it swept through them. The surgeon died of fever on June 2. She was also carrying 11 missionaries to be delivered to the South Seas Islands after delivering the convicts. On June 23 a reported plot by the convicts to seize the ship, panicked the missionaries but nothing happened. The ship was travelling in convoy with a RN ship the Belliqueux, 64 and three East Indiamen and on August 4 the convoy sighted four strange sail. After a naval engagement lasting several hours, two French frigates, La Concorde, 40 and the Medee, 36 were forced to surrender. On August 5, 59 prisoners from La Concorde were placed aboard the Royal Admiral where they complained of being robbed by the convicts. On arrival in Rio de Janeiro on August 12 there had been 23 convict deaths, with Surgeon Turner, 4 seamen, a convict’s wife and convict’s child. The Royal Admiral stayed in Rio until September 15. While there, another 5 convicts died. A further 15 convicts died while sailing to Port Jackson and on arrival almost all survivors required some medical treatment. On October 30, 1802 Governor King was still reporting that many were still debilitated and unlikely to fully recover.

References:

The Convict Ships 1787 – 1868 by Charles Bateson

The Journal of Anna King (held by State Library of New South Wales)

The First Fleet – The Real Story by Alan Frost