The "Francis & Eliza" departed Cork, Ireland, as part of a convoy of convict ships bound for Australia on December 5, 1814. The ship was under the command of Captain William Harrison, and began its journey under shifting, unsettled Northern Hemisphere winter weather. A month after departing Ireland, on January 4, 1815, the Francis and Eliza was separated from its convoy by a winter storm near Madeira, an autonomous archipelago officially under the control of Portugal. Join Holly and Matthew as they look into the longest trip of a convict ship, and the series of unfortunate events that prolonged its expedition - from pirates to mercenaries to American armsmen.