Coast Guard foils Florida man's plan to ride an inflatable bubble to Bermuda
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The U.S. Coast Guard burst Florida man Reza Baluchi's bubble Sunday when it once again stopped him from making a trip to Bermuda in an inflatable bubble. The Coast Guard announced Monday that it picked up Baluchi and towed his "hydropod" to shore after he failed to heed their warnings not to attempt the voyage. The long-distance runner had planned to pedal the bubble to Bermuda over the course of five months to raise "money for children in need and to inspire those that have lost hope for a better future."
Good intentions aside, the Coast Guard says that Baluchi's journey was in direct violation of its orders, which were sent in a letter on April 15. The letter warned Baluchi that his journey had been determined to be "manifestly unsafe" and, that if he were to attempt it, he faced possible "criminal penalties of up to seven years' confinement and a $40,000 fine."
This marks Baluchi's second attempt at the journey. The coast guard had to rescue him in 2014 after receiving a report "about a disoriented man in a bubble off the coast of Miami, who was asking for directions to Bermuda," CNN reports.
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Take a look at his bubble in footage from his 2014 rescue below. Becca Stanek
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