I saw the headline and wondered if this was a repost. Nope. If I had a nickel for every time this guy has been arrested for ocean hamster wheel shenanigans, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't much, but it's weird that it happened twice.
Also, this is the third time he's tried.
I don't think he actually expects to get very far in any of his tries. The attention from his eventual arrest and following news articles are his actual goals. Kinda like that flat earth rocket guy. And they'll both probably end the same way, dead by hubris.
This guy has a long history of doing things to completion. Ran the perimeter of USA, ran from LA to NYC after 9/11. Big cycling stuff. He is an actual world class athlete. I think he really wants to do this but lacks the finances and connections to have the support needed for such an expedition.
Thanks for that info, it's certainly new to me. The only times I've heard of him were for his last attempts at this same stunt.
I think you're in luck, the article says he's tried 3 similar voyages before, so if it's his fourth your nickel fortune is going to double!
Why was he arreated? is it agains the law to walk over water in florida?
Probably for operating an unregistered watercraft or not having a transponder. The kind of things maritime law requires for stuff like not getting shot be some idiot, not being IDed as a naval mine by the Navy, search & rescue, not hitting other ships, customs and border enforcement, etc, compelling border compliance, etc. There's a surprising amount of rules for doing stuff in the ocean.
Edit: apparently the vessel isn't technically seaworthy, there was a hurricane evacuation notice in the area, and he also threatened to kill himself and claimed to have a bomb. All of these things are usually guaranteed to piss off the government to varying degrees.
It does male sense! I'm not very familiar with maritime laws but it seems fair. thanks!! :)
Officials said he refused to step off the vessel and threatened to kill himself. He also claimed that he had a bomb on board, according to court papers.
Oh so he's not a cool weirdo, he's a terrible weirdo. Damn.
Have you kept up on Florida lately? Doesn't sound too insane to me.
I mean, that sounds kinda like a desperate persons attempts to keep other people off his "boat".
Damn, people really are desperate to get away from DeSantis.
I don’t even live in Florida and I’m desperate to get away from DeSantis.
I’m sorry! I thought this was AMERICA!?
What is the legal justification for this?
I don't understand it either.. He's obviously nuts, but that's his life and he should be able to choose to do what he wishes to. Doesn't matter on law. Most of the laws is just jurisdictional bullshit anyway. You don't need to have laws to know what's good or bad. Every decent moral ethic human being knows what's good or bad.
This is like the third time they have had to rescue him, it's a waste of tax payer money.
Except for humans who are mentally unwell and might cause damage to others or their property which is why detaining mentally unwell people and getting them help before they can hurt themselves is important.
Would you let a child crawl into a washing machine?
The part where upon being stopped by the Coast Guard - he threatened to kill himself and that he had a bomb. Also his device is not seaworthy and they would be dispatched to find him anyway when he dissapears because that's what they have to do.
I didn't know you needed to have a seaworthy device to sail on open waters.
Hazard to other traffic. If you cant steer, dont have lights, dont have a radio, and dont have a beacon or radar reflector, you're being a pain in the ass for everyone else on the high seas.
Just like how a car needs to have a minimum standard of roadworthiness to drive on public roads
“He is now facing federal charges of obstruction of a boarding, and violation of a Captain of the Port order.”
If you asked me to make up naval-related criminal charges while I was drunk, this is the sort of shit I would come up with.
How dumb, if the dude wants to use a poorly made vessel to try to cross the atlantic, let him.
Only if he signs a waiver so that the Coasties don't have to intervene.
Kill yourself however you want, just don't waste our money and time.
I would agree...except look at all the resources that were wasted trying to recover survivors from the Oceangate implosion.
The world acted like those rich fucks brought their treasure down with them.
Imagine being so fed up with living in Florida that the only way you can think to leave is by a giant hamster wheel
The guy made it 110km?! I mean, I'm still pretty impressed
Why arrest the guy if he wants to drowned in a hamster wheel in the ocean that's on him
He's trying to "raise money for the Coast Guard."
So does he just hand the check directly to the Guardsman in the Coast Guard vessel when they're forced to drag his yoga ball wheel out of the ocean for a 4th time?
Anything to get out of Florida
Florida man attempting to upgrade to Englishman
It is a really cool idea though
I'm not an expert in maritime law, or any law for that matter, but why they had to help him?
If he wanted to be in danger he succeeded, provided he doesn't request the coastal guard for assistance he is not hurting anything but himself. Is It because his hamster wheel might have been a hazard to other boats?
Article 98 UNCLOS, "Duty to render assistance":
- Every State shall require the master of a ship flying its flag, in so far as he can do so without serious danger to the ship, the crew or the passengers:
a. to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost;
b. to proceed with all possible speed to the rescue of persons in distress, if informed of their need of assistance, in so far as such action may reasonably be expected of him;
c. after a collision, to render assistance to the other ship, its crew and its passengers and, where possible, to inform the other ship of the name of his own ship, its port of registry and the nearest port at which it will call.
- Every coastal State shall promote the establishment, operation and maintenance of an adequate and effective search and rescue service regarding safety on and over the sea and, where circumstances so require, by way of mutual regional arrangements cooperate with neighbouring States for this purpose.
At this point, the guy should have already gathered some support to help him make the cross.
Crazier things have been done.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A Florida man was arrested after trying to "run to London" across the Atlantic Ocean in a homemade vessel resembling a hamster wheel.
The US Coast Guard intercepted Reza Baluchi about 70 miles (110km) off Tybee Island, Georgia on 26 August.
"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.
On 1 September, he eventually surrendered and abandoned his vessel after being brought to a Coast Guard base in Miami.
In 2021, he was arrested after being rescued while trying to ride from Florida to New York after drifting 30 miles south of his departure point.
According to previous interviews, Mr Baluchi said he was attempting the voyages to raise money for a variety of causes, including for the homeless and the Coast Guard.
The original article contains 398 words, the summary contains 150 words. Saved 62%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Instead of raising money for the coast guard he could just... not waste their time needing rescued.
They are going about this all wrong. They need to HIRE this guy.
He won't need to flee the continent if he's gainfully employed.
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