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Moving away from US big tech for privacy, security, and geopolitical reasons.

Online privacy and security have always been important but. in recent years our online lives have been dominated by US big tech firms and what they are doing and have done with our data is of great concern. I periodically investigate alternatives to these products and services and thought it maybe worthwhile to document what I’ve done or found out.

Lets start with operating systems, I worked in the HE sector for over thirty years where we were pretty much forced to use MS Windows and in some cases Apple. In fact my very first computer in 1990 was an Apple Macintosh SE, which didn’t even have a hard drive and booted off a floppy disc. As an alternative to these I started playing around with Linux systems sometime around 2004 about this time I stumbled on Ubuntu 4.10 Warty Warthog and apart from a few detours it’s been my go to OS ever since. I never liked the MS and Apple idea that it was ‘their’ OS and they’d dictate what I could and couldn’t do with it, I liked the freedom and versatility of Linux systems.

Many of us start our interactions with the online world trough a browser. However, my first contact with the internet, before Tim Berners-Lee had developed the WWW was through a telephone modem to the University of California Library which was very clunky but still interesting. Then in 1993 I started using Mosaic, later Netscape (Navigator) the worlds most popular browser at the time. Microsoft pretty much put Netscape out of business in the late 90’s but it returned as Mozilla and later Firefox, which I’ve been using ever since, along with the open source Chromium, upon which a number of modern browsers are based, including Google’s Chrome.

US big tech companies dominate our online experience these days and for many there are growing concerns around security and how our our data is used to targeted advertising, not to mention political manipulation. And now with the rise of so called AI and large language models (LLM) everything we post and say online is potentially being used without our consent. Yes, you can make Facebook etc. a little more secure and opt out of certain features, but let’s face it it’s not that easy and most people don’t bother. And with latest choice to be made on Meta services in the EU and UK of either accepting the personalised advertising or opting to pay a subscription now seems like the right time to look for alternatives

Browsers: As mentioned above I’ve used Firefox for years and have a lot of respect for the Mozilla foundation but with their plan to incorporate AI into the browser I’ve been looking for alternatives, of which there are many, Librewolf, Waterfox (UK), Brave, Vivaldi (NL), etc. All of which I use but I’m leaning towards Vivaldi as it’s based on Chromium, takes security and privacy seriously and, they’re based in Norway.

Search Engine: Search engines have come a long way since the days of WebCrawler, Lycos and AltaVista and have been dominated by Google for years now with almost every browser defaulting to Google. But, again there are many more security and privacy focused alternatives, like DuckDuckGo, Ecosia (D), Qwant (F) and Startpage (NL).

Email: I’ve used Gmail for so long now it’s proving difficult to leave. However, I’ve looked at alternatives and I’ve been using Proton for a while now. I also use their VPN and password manager.

Cloud Storage: As mentioned before like many people I’ve been locked into the Google ecosystem for a long time and used Google Photos, and Google Drive etc. Having built and expanded my own home server I have moved to self hosting for my photos using Immich. I’ve also used Ente and others for photo backup. For drive storage I again use Proton with 5Gb of free storage as well as an instance of Nextcloud hosted by DisRoot (NL). But there are many others both free and paid .

Facebook/Instagram: Like many I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, I love what it started out as and what it could have been, but hate what it’s actually become. I wanted to move away years ago trying both Diaspora and Mastadon but at that time their user base was small and no one I knew was on either. I think now is a good time to try again so I’ll be testing these as well as MeWe, Friendica (EU) and Minds

WhatsApp: another Meta product. Some alternatives are Threema (CH), Signal (US & EU), Olvid (Fr) and Session (AU)

Twitter/X: I left Twitter a long time ago, and I’m glad I did given what it’s turned into.

There are so many European alternatives now to US big tech and the move to digital sovreignty is growing.

Some sites I found helpful:

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My Sailing Experience, so far…

Morgenster

Morgenster Clipper Brig, Built 1919 and restored in 2010, with an overall length of 48m. Home port Den Helder NL.

Morgenster was my first experience of sailing on a tall ship and not knowing whether I’d enjoy it or not I chose a gentle island hopping voyage around the Canary Islands in Feb 2017. I ended up having one of the most enjoyable times of my life, met great people, especially the crew and had an unforgettable experience sailing around the Canaries. Morgenster is still my favourite ship. I had such a great time that later that year I completed my competent crew training with RYA at Kip marina in Scotland.

Irene off Eigg

Irene gaff rigged ketch. Built 1907 in Bridgewater UK. Overall length 34m. I had a such a blast sailing on Morgenster in Feb 2017 that I signed up for a voyage on Irene in June the same year. Although this was a relatively short voyage of 6 days around the beautiful Scottish islands of Mull, Eigg and Skye starting in the port of Oban. We had the typical West of Scotland weather of glorious sunshine and torrential rain, but once again I had an unforgettable experience sailing and swimming around the Inner Hebrides and helming the ship around Kerera and into Oban harbour.

Oosterschelde off Boa Vista

Oosterschelde Topsail Schooner. Built 1917 Overall length 50m. Home port Rotterdam NL. During conversations with crew on previous voyages the name Oosterschelde was often mentioned as a great vessel to sail on so in Jan 2018 I signed on for an ocean passage from Santa Cruz in Tenerife to Sal in Cabo Verde. Apart from experiencing life on board this beautiful ship I also wanted to try an ocean passage to see how I faired compared to my previous island hopping voyages. despite catching a nasty bug on the flight to Tenerife I had a fantastic time on this great ship and met some wonderful people and the crew were once again brilliant.

our track around the North of the Isle of Man

After returning from my voyage on Oosterschelde I heard that Morgenster was taking part in the three festivals regatta in May 2018, sailing from Liverpool, Dublin and Bordeaux. As I had never participated in a race before I signed on for the Liverpool to Dublin leg, another first for me. What an amazing time we had, we sang, we danced, we laughed and we sailed. In fact we were the only class A tall ship to complete the entire voyage under sail, due largely to the skill and expertise of the professional crew and especially our captain Jakob. We were awarded a Class A winners cup at the crew celebrations in Dublin, the overall winner being Maybe, I ship I would sail on in 2019.

Nearing Hirta

Whilst I was on Oosterschelde in Jan 2018 sailing to Cabo Verde the crew mentioned they’d be in Scotland during the summer that year. So, as soon as I got home I checked the voyages available and booked another voyage from my bucket list, namely Oban to St. Kilda (Hirta). We sailed through the sound of Harris both there and back which was quite an experience, especially at night. Hirta was shrouded in mist but was a very special place to visit, and although I didn’t know it at the time I would be back.

Lord Nelson at St. Lucia

Looking for a bit of winter sunshine I booked a voyage on the Blue Clipper in the Caribbean for Feb 2019. Unfortunately they changed their port of debarkation, so switched to the Lord Nelson, a barque built in 1986 to accommodate crew of all abilities. The regime aboard Lord Nelson came as a bit of a shock to me having sailed previously on more ‘relaxed’ Dutch ships. The permanent crew wore uniforms and as a sail training vessel they treated the guest crew like teenage cadets. This was not a sail training voyage and the friction between some of the permanent crew and the guest crew became evident. In spite of the stricter regime on board I had a great time, my watch were fantastic and we finished the voyage back in Antigua with an eventful night on the town. Sadly the Lord Nelson was decommissioned in Sept 2019. Much has been written about the Jubilee Sailing Trust management of the ships which led to this.

Maybe

Maybe is a wooden Ketch built in 1929 with an overall length of 24m. I joined Maybe near the end of June 2019 in Oban to sail the length of the Caledonian Canal to Inverness then onto Aberdeen. Once again I had a blast with great crew and guest crew. Singing Abba songs and dancing whilst we went the tough the locks in the canal, to the delight of the onlooking tourists was a highlight. When we left Inverness and set the sails we managed some good sailing along the Moray coast. The weather worsened around Rattray head and I remember the captain Seb and me grappling to get the foresail in up to our knees in sea water at a rather jaunty angle. Good times !!

Tecla in full sail

Tecla is a gaff rigged ketch built in 1914 with an overall length of 39.5m and a home port of Winkel NL. Another great Dutch ship which I first came across via a post on Facebook asking for declarations of interest in attempting the North West passage by sail. I very soon realise this would be a very expensive voyage which was a bit beyond my budget. I checked out the rest of the planned legs and was immediately drawn to the leg from the Galapagos Islands to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). I didn’t hesitate and booked it there and then. Between the Galapagos, 15 days across the Pacific on a course of 190′ and finally Rapa Nui, this was a voyage never to be forgotten. Once again a great crew and good friends.

At the helm of Pelican of London with Hirta in the background

Some time in late May 2021 while we were still in the midst of a pandemic I received an email from Classic Sailing informing me of a last minute cancellation on leg 2 of the Darwin 200 voyage around the UK. The Pelican of London is a 45 m Barquentine built in 1948 operated by Seas Your Future, a non profit sail training organisation. The leg was to start in Glasgow and visit many inner and outer Hebridean islands including, Staffa, Hirta (St. Kilda) and Roackall as part of a documentary film by Stuart McPhearson called Britain’s Secret Islands. This was a five week voyage and after one and half years of the pandemic this was just what I needed. We spent 3 nights in port in Glasgow testing to make sure we were covid free before departure. There was a good mix of people onboard, as a sail training vessel the regulations were rather restrictive given this was not a sail training voyage. However, my watch were brilliant and we had a whale of a time, singing, dancing, climbing and learning rope work techniques from Bosun Elie. Landing of Hirta (St. Kilda) for a second time was pretty special and the weather was fantastic, it was os great to forget about the pandemic, if only for a few weeks.

Oosterschelde

I n Feb 2022 I was back on one of my favourite ships, Oosterschelde. Having sailed from Tenerife to Sal in Cabo Verde in 2018 I took the opportunity this time to explore the islands of Cabo Verde. There were only six guest crew on this voyage and we were outnumbered by the permanent crew so we all had private cabins. Trips ashore were arranged for each of the islands, each with their own special character from the steep caldera of Sao Antonio to the desert of Boa Vista. We had some really nice sailing weather too, such a pity it was just for 11 days, then back to Sal and the flight home.

Tecla Heading for the Faroes

In 2020 Tecla was planning their usual sailing schedule between the Iceland, Greenland and Scotland. I booked the voyage from Iceland to Scotland via the Faroes. Due to the pandemic it was clear this was unworkable and the voyage was cancelled. I booked again in 2021, but once again this was cancelled due to ongoing restrictions. Finally in Aug 2022 with limited restrictions and extensive use of vaccines the voyage went ahead. I joined the ship in Reykjavik and due the prevailing wind we sailed North rather than East. Exploring the North coast of Iceland, dipping into the arctic circle and the beauty of the Auroa Borealis were the icing on the cake. Although it was summer it was pretty cold at times that far North but the scenery, especially the Faroes was fantastic, an unforgettable voyage.

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Tall Ship Sailing: Tecla, Galapagos to Rapa Nui

I first came across the Tecla on Facebook when they posted asking for people to declare an interest in joining them in attempting to navigate the North West passage.  Unfortunately I could not afford the cost of this leg of the voyage but when I saw  they were also sailing from The Galapagos islands to Rapa Nui I signed up immediately, several months before tortoisethe trip.baltra airport So it was with a great deal of excitement and anticipation when I finally landed in Baltra airport in The Galapagos on 11th Nov.  I checked into my hotel in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz and went straight to sleep after 5 airports, 4 flights and more than 18 hours in the air I was whacked. The next day I walked to the famous Charles Darwin Research Station and was given a very informative tour of land Iguanatheir giant tortoise and iguana breeding programmes. After a visit to Playa de los Alemanes and las grietasLas Grietas for a swim I walked to the beautiful Tortuga bay. Everyone recommended taking one of the tours on Galapagos so after asking around I booked a snorkelling day trip to Isla Pinzón. After a long, fast boat trip I found myself snorkelling with sea turtles and marine iguana as well as a mother sea lion teaching her cubs to dive for a stick. I felt very comfortable swimming with these amazing creatures but all I could think was wow! this is absolutely fantastic, I couldn’t quite believe it was happening. If that wasn’t enough on our second stop we were swimming with white tipped reef sharks and a sting ray, another surreal experience. A couple of people in the group had underwater cameras so I’m hope they’ll share some footage. On our way back to Santa Cruz we stopped off at this rock to see the blue footed boobies and sea lions, I made a mental note to  check the name of the island,  which I later discovered is Isla sin Nombre, go figure! I met up with Claudia and a few other crew mates and started to get to know each other. Unfortunately we found out that Tecla had been delayed in Equador due to the bio-security clean up and was  not allowed to come to Santa Cruz so now we had to meet the ship in San Cristobal. An extra day in Galapagos, what a bummer 😉 It was a leavingsancristobaltwo hour high speed taxi ride to San Cristobal where we met up up with another guest crew for a few beers before finally joining the ship. It was great to get on board to start the next part of the adventure. Unfortunately we had to wait over the weekend for immigration clearance an on Monday we all had to go onshore to have our passports photocopied and then  all taxied up to the immigration building which for some reason was on the outskirts of town. We eventually raised anchor under sail in late afternoon heading South into the big blue. We quickly settled into the routine of watches, eating, sleeping. Or at least trying to sleep with the engine running which unfortunately we had to use when we lost the wind to keep to schedule.

white watch
white watch

I was on white (wit) watch 04:00-08:00 and 16:00-20:00 which was great as we saw the sunrise then breakfast and we saw the sunset then dinner.  the days started to merge together as they do on long ocean passages as we headed due South 190o a heading that became etched on the memory of everyone at the helm.  To paraphrase Douglas Adams…

The Pacific is big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to The Pacific.

sun rise
sunrise

voyage route
the voyage map

South of the Galapagos, but still near the equator the sunset is very early, around 18:00 but as we got further South it became later each day, but still quite fast, you could miss it just going below deck to get your camera.  On a couple of occasions when the wind dropped we had a swim stop the first was 06o 12′ South 94o 53′ West and the second was 24o 22′ South 107o 39′ West which I can safely say was the most remote swimming pool I’ve ever been in with the nearest dry land around 2000Km away.

The weather was a bit more variable than expected with a bit of everything really which meant quite a bit of sail setting, reefing and taking down. Although there was very little in the way of wildlife apart from the odd bird now and again there were a lot  of flying fish,  and during the night and early morning many landed on deck in fact I was hit on the back of the head by one whilst at the helm around 05:00. So this little fellow must have jumped/flown  some 15 feet up. Needless to say it came off worse than I did.

Hanga Roa
Hanga Roa

vinapu
Ahu Vinapu

After some 14 days at sea we sighted land in the distance on 30th Nov at about 15:30 and eventually dropped anchor in Hanga La Perouse on the Noth of the island.  We celebrated our arrival that nigh which unfortunately (for me) given the combination of darkness, rain, a rolling ship and far too much alcohol on my behalf resulted in my head making an accelerated impact with the deck. The next morning I awoke and the damage and memories became clearer. Needless to say I felt rather embarrassed. With two nurses and a doctor on board I was well looked after and my injury was minor, a lump no bruising and a scar to add to my collection.  The next day we sailed round the island for our first view of the township of Hanga Roa. Later that day we had to go round to the East of the island to shelter from an incoming NW squall. We anchored in the bay near the end of the airport and within sight of Ahu Vinapu, which would be our base until we left the ship on Wednesday 4th Dec.