MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man is facing federal charges after authorities caught him setting off on a rather unusual journey.
As Hurricane Franklin was approaching the eastern seaboard last week, Reza Baluchi was found 70 miles off the Georgia coast in what the U.S. Coast Guard described as "a human-powered hamster wheel."
Photos show an intricate cylindrical contraption engineered with buoys and metal wiring.
Coast Guard officials said when they first intercepted Baluchi in the water, he told them he was on his way to London.
According to a criminal complaint, that's when officers determined "Baluchi was conducting a manifestly unsafe voyage."
Baluchi then reportedly threatened to kill himself with a 12-inch knife if anyone tried to arrest him. Officials said he also claimed to have a bomb.
This prompted "a bizarre three-day standoff at sea," the Coast Guard wrote.
After multiple failed attempts to get him to board Coast Guard vessels, Baluchi admitted on Aug. 28 that he did not have a real bomb. On Sept. 1, he was brought ashore at the USCG base in Miami Beach.
Baluchi is now facing charges for obstruction of a boarding and violation of a captain of the port order, according to the criminal complaint.
It's not clear if Baluchi has any seafaring plans for the future, but apparently, it's not the first time he's tried to make an extreme voyage on this vessel.
"File this one under 'people will try anything,'" the U.S. Coast Guard wrote.
