Last Saturday, the Coast Guard was called to a beach near St. Augustine, Florida, after a man who was attempting to “run” on the ocean washed ashore in a vessel resembling a human-size hamster wheel. Surprisingly enough, it was not their first encounter with 49-year-old Reza Baluchi.
Baluchi has spent nearly a decade constructing his floating “hydro pod,” which he was planning on taking 1,000 miles from Florida to New York using only the power of his legs and the Gulf Stream. He made it only 25 miles before aborting the mission, claiming that his backup GPS and charging cables had been stolen.
This is not the first time Baluchi has attempted to cross the ocean and failed. In 2014, the Coast Guard rescued him off the coast of St. Augustine when he attempted to run to Bermuda, and in 2016, they rescued him yet again when he set off for Bermuda from Pompano Beach.
The Coast Guard determined Baluchi was not compliant with marine safety regulations and said that he could not continue his journey without a support vessel, additional safety and navigation equipment and a voyage plan under the Captain of Port Orders directive. Failure to comply is punishable by a civil penalty up to $95,881.
Despite three failures, Baluchi, an accomplished marathon runner, is still determined to complete an ocean “run” and raise money for charity along the way. “I’ll never give up my dream,” he says. “They stop me four or five times, but I never give up.”
