Reza Baluchi had hoped to complete the 1,000-mile trip in a homemade ‘hydro-bubble’
The 1,000-mile trip from Florida to Bermuda is challenging enough in a motoryacht, but peace activist and long-distance runner Reza Baluchi fancied an even bigger challenge.
Using a homemade ‘hydro bubble’, the Iranian daredevil had hoped to make the passage on manpower alone and raise money for children’s charities in the process.
Reza’s bizarre contraption is based around a 3mm-thick plastic zorb and features exterior paddles to give purchase on the water, in much the same way that a paddle steamer does.
However, his sense of direction let him down and the US coastguard was called out last week (1 October), following reports of a man in a bubble asking for directions to Bermuda.
Reza initially ignored the coastguard’s offer of rescue, but three days later fatigue got the better of him and he activated his personal locating beacon to call for help.
He had previously run 135 miles through Death Valley in California, but this time his adventure ended just 70 miles offshore.
An MH-60 helicopter was able to lift him free without any injuries, but the hydro bubble was left to float off into the Atlantic Ocean.
Click on the video below to see the development and testing of the ill-fated hydro bubble:
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