Reza Baluchi's hamster wheel vessel in 2023 (left), and what it looked like in 2021 (right).
A Florida man who attempted to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to reach England in a huge, floating hamster wheel is in trouble with the federal government. According to a criminal complaint obtained by FOX 35 Orlando, Ray "Reza" Baluchi was charged with obstruction of a boarding and violation of a captain of the port order.
The U.S. Coast Guard spotted Baluchi 70 nautical miles east of Tybee Island, Georgia on August 26, court documents read. He told USCG at the time he was traveling to London on his homemade vessel, which officials said was constructed out of wires and buoys.
After USCG officers deemed the hamster wheel unsafe, they ordered him to get on their boat. Baluchi allegedly refused and threatened to kill himself with a knife if they tried to remove him from the vessel. The Florida man also threatened to blow himself up with a bomb, and the Coast Guard believed his threat since he was holding wires in his hands, records state.
The back-and-forth dragged on for days until Baluchi later told officers there was no bomb. On August 29, USCG safely brought Baluchi onto the boat and he was taken to a nearby base in Miami Beach, according to reporters.
This wasn't the first time Baluchi tried traversing the ocean on his man-made "bubble." FOX 35 says he's been going on these voyages since 2014, and his latest attempt marked the fourth time. In 2021, Flagler County deputies found his hamster wheel washed ashore in St. Augustine.
In an interview with the news station, Baluchi said he's doing this to raise money for homeless people and government agencies, including police departments, fire departments, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
"I’ll never give up my dream," he said. "They stop me four or five times, but I never give up."