Florida man charged for sailing in Atlantic in hamster wheel, again

A 51-year-old man from Florida was arrested trying to "run to London" across the Atlantic Ocean in a human-size homemade vessel resembling a hamster wheel.Reza Baluchi was detained on August 26 after the US Coast Guard intercepted his vessel about 70 miles (110km) off Tybee Island, Georgia, andwas finally brought ashore on Sept. 1.

The officers were preparing for the arrival of a major hurricane when they spotted Baluchi’s vessel.

During interrogation, Baluchi told the officers that he intended to travel more than 4,000 miles to London in his homemade hamster wheel, which the Coast Guard described as unsafe, as it was built with buoys.

Notably, Baluchi has been attempting similar voyages since 2014, and even threatened to kill himself during the recent interception if the officers interrupted his mission, the Coast Guard said, according to the New York Times newspaper.

The makeshift vessel that he has been using is fitted with paddles and designed to move forward as the wheel revolves.

"Based on the condition of the vessel - which was afloat as a result of wiring and buoys - [US Coast Guard] officers determined Baluchi was conducting a manifestly unsafe voyage," the criminal complaint says.

The officers eventually persuaded Baluchi to leave his vessel on August 29, following which he was charged in federal court in Miami on Tuesday (Sept. 5) with obstruction of boarding and violation of the Captain of the Port Order.

It is unclear whether he has obtained a lawyer to represent him in his criminal case.

In his previous interviews, Baluchi said he was attempting to sail through London to raise money for a variety of causes, including for the homeless and the Coast Guard.

"My goal is to not only raise money for homeless people, raise money for the Coast Guard, raise money for the police department, raise money for the fire department," he told WOFL-TV in Orlando in 2021.

"They are in public service, they do it for safety, and they help other people."

(With inputs from agencies)

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