Author Topic: Florida man busted trying to ‘run’ across ocean in giant hamster wheel amid hurricane  (Read 380 times)

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Offline Kamaji

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Florida man busted trying to ‘run’ across ocean in giant hamster wheel amid hurricane

By Isabel Keane
Published Sep. 6, 2023

A foolhardy Florida marathoner was busted trying to run across the Atlantic in what is effectively a giant hamster wheel — and with a hurricane racing in.

Reza Baluchi, 44, was spotted late last month about 70 miles off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia, as Hurricane Franklin caused life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, in a criminal complaint shared by Fox News.

Photos showed him in the middle of the quirky homemade contraption, or Hydro Pod, consisting of a metal drum with inflatable buoys on each side, as well as paddles powered by him running inside the ball.

“Based on the condition of the vessel — which was afloat as a result of wiring and buoys — USCG officers determined Baluchi was conducting a manifestly unsafe voyage,” the affidavit said.

Baluchi reportedly told his rescuers he planned to “run” more than 4,000 miles more to cross the ocean to London — then repeatedly threatened to kill himself rather than end his wheely risky run.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/09/06/man-busted-trying-to-run-across-atlantic-in-hamster-wheel/