Off to cross the Pacific

On May 7th, 2013, I fly out to Sydney, Honolulu, and then Oakland, California – this is the cheapest way to fly one-way to the USA. I’ll get a really cheap week-long rental car, and head up to Napa, and start prep-work on SV Harmony. We’ll then sail down into the bay to see friends, mount solar panels, re-do some of the electrics, seal some windows, source and mount a windvane, and head off across the Pacific, again.

It sounds so simple, but the devil is in the details. Dozens and dozens of small problems need to be solved, equipment needs to be sourced (I’m desperately seeking an affordable Monitor Windvane, by the way), funds need to be scrounged, and many unknowable variables still exist. However, eventually, it will all culminate into a new adventure beyond the Golden Gate, and into the uncompromising Pacific ocean. We’re bound for Sydney, approximately 7500nm (13,890km) away from San Francisco.

This voyage will have very few stops, and I may sail with friends this time, depending on how everything works out. All my possessions I own of value are for sale, because as usual, I’m broke on both money and time – another voyage sponsored by Visa & Mastercard. This old adage:

“To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest… Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.” -Sterling Hayden

I created some original sailing tshirts and put up a little shop – coins raised from this will be used to stock SV Harmony up with canned stew, popcorn, and eggs – the diet of champions. 10% of profits go to Sea Shepherd, because I’ve sailed the Pacific before, and the commercial fishermen have won – there is nothing left. Someone has to take a stand, and I’d like to support in some small way those people.

tshirts

Rest assured I’m still working out what to do with Constellation, but I don’t have any firm plans thus far, although this voyage has taken precedence because leaving SF is seasonal, and now is the time.

I’ll be posting more often closer to the date, while in San Francisco, and perhaps on passage if I can figure out how to do it affordably. In other news, I needed some adventurous inspiration so I put together a little ocean adventuring Tumblr page.

Push on! Nick.

Bass Strait crossing

A handful of photos from the weekend – Crossing Bass Strait from Launceston to Docklands via the Curtis Island group, aboard Antarctic expedition vessel The Blizzard, a 20m Radford designed schooner run by Jonathan of Alinthia Adventures.

The Blizzard aft cabin
The Blizzard aft cabin
The Blizzard
The Blizzard
Curtis Island
Curtis Island

My brother and Dave
My brother and Dave
Staysail
Staysail
Curtis Island
Curtis Island


NBN Co. FOI request

In the middle of last year, I filed a freedom of information request to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, as I was interested in the possible use/installation of tapping/fibre splitting equipment on the National Broadband Network (NBN). My letter is as follows:

Dear FOI Officer,

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
I request any documents to be provided to me, which may outline or discuss the installation of fibre & communications tapping equipment, and or network splitter equipment within the National Broadband Network infrastructure rollout. This should specifically include, but not be limited to:

  1. Equipment which could be used to assist (through legal or other authorisation) in the electronic surveillance and monitoring of communications by state, federal and foreign intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
  2. Any similar equipment which duplicates or splits any physical network infrastructure beyond its end point, for any reason across the National Broadband Network. This may or may not include equipment (including third party equipment) for network performance, testing and quality of service monitoring and management.

Regards,

The process was simple, and I was routinely updated. A month or two later, I was sent the following letter:

Re: Freedom of Information Request
I refer to your request under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) received by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy on 9 August 2012; and subsequently transferred to this on 16 August 2012. You have sought access to documents that:

‘outline or discuss the installation of fibre & communications tapping equipment, and or network splitter equipment within the National Broadband Network infrastructure rollout. This should specifically include, but not be limited to:

  1. Equipment which could be used to assist (through legal or other authorisation) in the electronic surveillance and monitoring of communications by state, federal and foreign intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
  2. Any similar equipment which duplicates or splits any physical network infrastructure beyond its end point, for any reason across the National Broadband Network. This may or may not include equipment (including third party equipment) for network performance, testing and quality of service monitoring and management.

Decision

Pursuant to arrangements approved by the Secretary of this Department under section 23 of the Act, I am authorised to make decisions in relation to this matter on behalf of the Department. Accordingly, I have examined all the material held by this Department which is within the ambit of your request. I have decided, however, that I am unable to release any of those documents. The reasons for my decision are set out below.

Reasons

Subsection 7(2) of the Act provides as follows:

Exemption of certain persons and bodies

  1. The persons, bodies and Departments specified in Part II of Schedule 2 are exempt from the operation of this Act in relation to the documents referred to in that Schedule in relation to them.
  1. Part II of Schedule 2 of the Act provides as follows:

    Schedule 2 – Part II—Agencies exempt in respect of particular documents
    Division 1
    NBN Co, in relation to documents in respect of its commercial activities
    Subsection 7(3A) of the Act provides as follows:
    (3A) In Part II of Schedule 2, commercial activities, when used in relation to NBN Co, means:
    (a) activities carried on by NBN Co on a commercial basis; or
    (b) activities, carried on by NBN Co, that may reasonably be expected in the foreseeable future to be carried on by NBN Co on a commercial basis.

I am unable to release any of the documents to you because, in my view, they all relate to the ‘commercial activities’ of NBN Co. As such, they are, therefore, outside the operation of the Act by virtue of subsection 7(2) of the Act.

Right of Review

Should you wish to have my decision in this matter reviewed, you have two options. Firstly, you are entitled to request an internal review of my decision by a senior officer of this Department. Should you wish to pursue this option, you should write to me within 30 days of receiving this letter.

Alternatively, you are entitled to request a review of my decision by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). Should you wish to pursue that course and action you should write to the OAIC, within 60 days of receiving this letter, at GPO Box 2999, Canberra, ACT, 2601. You are also entitled to make a complaint to the OAIC about the way the Department handled your request.

Essentially the short of this FOI request is: Because NBN Co. is obfuscated behind a commercial entity, the general public is unable to garner any information on potential privacy risks/technologies built into the network, even though close to $30 billion of public tax payer funds have been invested into the project, making the public a majority stakeholder.

I never expected a full disclosure, but I didn’t really expect this outcome either.

Think of it what you will.