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Even in a state accustomed to strange things washing up on the shore – like bricks of cocaine, corpses, sharks and unexploded ordnance – the floating craft that washed up in Florida over the weekend doubled the authorities.
A man stepped out of the craft’s top hatch, a makeshift human hamster wheel. He had only traveled 25 miles on what was supposed to be a 1,000+ mile trip from St. Augustine, Fla. To New York, using the power of both his legs and, if all went well. as expected, the Gulf Stream.
The man, Reza Baluchi, said in an interview Monday that he spent thousands of dollars and nearly a decade making improvements to the homemade contraption, called the hydropod. He was equipped with a satellite phone, a water filtration system, a solar panel, neoprene suits and a stock of granola and ramen noodles for his embarkation from St. Augustine on Friday for this that he expected a three week trip.
But the next day, when Mr Baluchi, 49, realized that his backup GPS device and charging cables were missing – he said they had been stolen – he interrupted his Homeric odyssey. His abortive adventure surprised and stunned beach goers.
“I open the top door and jump,” he said. ” They laugh. They take a picture of me. I know what I’m doing. I am not stupid.
In a Facebook post, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said some concerned people reported on Saturday morning that a ship had stranded on shore in a part of the county known as the Hammock. The office said it had referred the matter to the Coast Guard, who would determine whether the vessel was in compliance with maritime safety regulations.
The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. The hydroelectric nacelle was stranded near a seaside resort.
Mr Baluchi, a former professional cyclist who was born in Iran and was granted asylum in the United States, said he hoped to use the attention of his trip to raise funds to help the homeless and to other charitable causes. Over the years, he said, he has received puzzling reactions – including from the Coast Guard – after performing similar stunts on the water.
“They say, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Said Mr. Baluchi, who lives in Boca Raton, South Florida.
Built from floating aluminum and plastic balls, the hydropod can carry several thousand pounds, according to Mr Baluchi, who provided a copy of a vessel registration form he said he filed with of the State of Florida.
On the form, in a box specifying the type of propulsion system of the vessel, Mr. Baluchi wrote that it was the outboard type. He checked “other” for the type of fuel. And in the space for the odometer reading and on behalf of the shipbuilder, he wrote, “Homemade Florida Boats.”
The Florida Department of Highway and Motor Vehicle Safety did not immediately comment on Monday. Under state law, non-motorized vessels less than 16 feet in length are exempt from being titled and registered. Mr Baluchi said his hydropod was about six feet long and 10 feet wide.
Mr. Baluchi seemed unable to imagine life without the craft.
“Now I’m dead,” Baluchi said, referring to what would happen if he lost his hydropod. ” I do not have a car. I put everything in my life.
Mr Baluchi, who is a father and was himself homeless, is no stranger to endurance testing. He had previously drawn attention to a cross-country race for charity.
In an earlier model of the hydropod, he said, it traveled nearly 400 miles in the Pacific Ocean, reaching Santa Catalina Island. But the craft was destroyed several years ago off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, he said, adding that the coast guard advised him to have a boat to escort it.
But that would have been too expensive, said Mr Baluchi, who experimented with using an elliptical trainer to power his hydropod.
For his trip from Florida to New York, Mr Baluchi estimated he could have reached speeds of up to 6 knots in the current version of the ship, which has a hammock for sleeping. He had planned to catch and eat fish. and chew a special anti-nausea gum to deal with seasickness. To protect himself from bouncing in rough seas, he said, he had a bicycle helmet and a harness system.
To protect himself from the beating sun, Mr. Baluchi had put in the shade with a photo of Nikki Ziering, an actress and former model of “The Price Is Right” who appeared in Playboy. Her pin-up photos are featured prominently on her website, which has a page for people to track her progress.
Ms Ziering said in an interview on Monday that mutual friends introduced her to Mr Baluchi.
He said, ‘Can you be my Wilson like in’ Cast Away ‘, the Tom Hanks movie? “” Ms Ziering said, referring to a volleyball that was Mr Hanks’ companion on a desert island. I said, ‘I would be honored to be your Wilson. “”
Ms. Ziering said she was impressed by Mr. Baluchi’s fearlessness.
“He’s going to have a spear in case there is a shark,” she said. “He’s going to run in a hamster wheel, basically, across the ocean.”
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