It looks like a rejected set piece from Wipeout. And the rejected set piece looks like something Jamie O’Brien would use to willingly send himself over the falls at Pipe. But apparently, to one man, it looked more like a vessel worthy of crossing the high seas.

Over the weekend Reza Baluchi left Pompano Beach in South Florida on a mission to take a giant inflatable wheel out to the Bermuda Triangle. It would be propelled across the ocean the same way a hamster keeps himself occupied in a cage all day long: running. Baluchi, an endurance athlete, had outfitted what he calls the “hydropod” with 72 buoyancy balls, a life jacket, a water filter, a GPS device, shark repellent and a sign that reads “Please don’t burst my bubble.”

His plan was to hit Bermuda, Haiti, Cuba and Puerto Rico all in one trip. The only problem with this plan, however, was that the US Coast Guard sent Reza a letter earlier in the month telling him not to go. Why, you ask? Because they just didn’t think the plan was safe – which means they clearly overlooked the on board shark repellents.


“Mind is power. It’s 85 percent your mind. Anything you can do,” Reza said in an interview before his journey, despite the Coast Guard’s request.

Then on Sunday the USGC tweeted they were towing Balushi’s hydropod back to shore after he “voluntarily” ended his sea voyage. They said a 2014 rescue of the same man, in the same vessel, had placed an enormous financial burden on taxpayers, and that Balushi was now in violation of their order not to attempt the trip. Bubble bursting complete.

As funny as it all sounds though, Balushi’s heart is in the right place. He’s biked through 6 continents and has run across the perimeter of the United States. He has a goal of running through every country in the world to raise money for children in need. But still, Reza seems like an entertaining guy, and his story is too funny funny to be fake.

The official US Coast Guard report says when they rescued the man he was asking for directions to Bermuda.


Classic Reza.