Meanwhile, in Florida: Man Rescued Trying to Ride Blow-Up Bubble to Bermuda

Reza Baluchi, 44, a long-distance runner, left Pompano beach on Saturday in his “hydropod,” despite warnings from the Coast Guard that the voyage would be unsafe and an order for him not to attempt it. He previously tried the same trip and failed in 2014. The goal of the stunt, he told CBS, was to raise money for children in need.

The craft was made from 36 buoyancy balls on each side and was equipped with a life jacket with a built-in water filter, GPS, shark repellent, and backpacks full of energy bars and gatorade.

The letter the Coast Guard sent Baluchi warned of possible “criminal penalties of up to seven years’ confinement and a $40,000 fine,” but that did not deter him.

Coast guard captain AJ Gould told Baluchi that his main concern about the trip was the lack of a support boat, which Gould said “shows a lack of planning and concern for your life,”  the Guardian reported.

“In November 2014, you attempted this voyage unsuccessfully and ultimately placed an enormous financial burden on taxpayers to conduct a rescue,” Gould wrote to him. “Additionally, it placed coast guard personnel at risk.

Baluchi was picked up seven miles off the coast of Jupiter, Florida. He planned to run for five months inside the hydropod — but ended the trip voluntarily when the Coast Guard arrived.

Baluchi came to the United states in 2003 after being granted asylum; he had been exiled from Iran for “anti-Islamic activities.” He previously shattered an endurance record for running the length of the United States twice.