Story Archive

The Third Time’s the Charm

When we first met Ray “Reza” Baluchi, then 42 (“Can You Walk on Water?” in This is True for 12 October 2014), he was trying to jog around the outline of the mythical Bermuda Triangle — which is in the middle of the ocean — starting in Miami, Fla. How? By running inside a floating device that looks like a giant hamster wheel. He was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard, which refused to also recover the conveyance. “The vessel itself poses concerns about navigational safety, stability and sea-worthiness,” the Coast Guard said at the time, and Baluchi, an immigrant from Iran, was fined $10,000. By 2021, Baluchi, then 49, had built a new hamster wheel, but floated ashore in Flagler County, Fla., after failing to “run” from St. Augustine to New York. In around 24 hours, he had gone 34 miles — in the wrong direction. Baluchi, now 51, was found in the ocean again on August 26. This time, the Coast Guard found him in his hamster wheel 70 nautical miles east of Tybee Island, Ga. Where was he going? London, he said. That would require a stroll across the Atlantic, into the North Sea, and up the River Thames, a journey of more than 4,250 miles. Upset at being stopped, Baluchi allegedly threatened to kill himself with a 12-inch knife if the coasties wouldn’t leave him alone. When that didn’t work, he allegedly threatened to detonate a bomb onboard, which he eventually admitted was a hoax. He was arrested, and brought back to Miami. (RC/WOFL Orlando, Daytona Beach News-Journal) ...Next time, make him walk.