Vice has released a video highlighting the ill-fated attempts by a Florida resident to travel from that state to Bermuda aboard an inflatable bubble – an endeavour that saw him rescued at sea, barred from even making a second attempt, and eventually committed to a psychiatric hospital following his third shot at making the trip.
Since its release, the video has over one million views on YouTube.
The description of the video says, “In 2016 a Florida man attempted to run from Boca Raton, FL to Bermuda in a home-made, inflatable plastic bubble. Reza Baluchi had been warned by the Coast Guard that any efforts to attempt his journey would be futile and result in severe legal and financial retribution.
“However, Reza’s convictions and ambition left him undeterred by such threats – he’d been waiting his whole life to do this and nothing was going to stop him. This is the story of that fateful journey as told by the man who attempted it.”
Mr. Baluchi made his first attempt in 2014, resulting in him being rescued by the Coast Guard after being found disoriented and asking for directions to Bermuda.
He made his second attempt in April 2016, and was stopped by the Coast Guard, who said it was an “inherently unsafe voyage attempt.”
A third attempt saw Mr. Baluchi detained by the Coast Guard and placed in a psychiatric hospital under the Florida Mental Health Act.
