Paddling and nothing but paddling will be on North Shore paddleboarder Chris Owens’ mind today. He will make his second attempt to paddle from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i. Owens will depart from Mokulei‘a at 5 p.m., and he estimates his arrival
Paddling and nothing but paddling will be on North Shore paddleboarder Chris Owens’ mind today.
He will make his second attempt to paddle from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i.
Owens will depart from Mokulei‘a at 5 p.m., and he estimates his arrival at Nawiliwili Harbor around 5 p.m. tomorrow, approximately 24 hours later.
“It’s a personal challenge, and it seems to me to be the ultimate paddle-boarding challenge,” Owens says. “I feel confident. For me it’s all about beating the night. If I can make it through the night, I’ll go all the way.”
Owens is an avid paddleboarder and veteran North Shore surfer who is also a seven-time finisher of the Quiksilver-edition Moloka‘i Paddleboard Race, commonly regarded as the world’s most grueling paddleboard event. At 89 miles, the distance across the Kaua‘i Channel is almost three times that of the Ka‘iwi Channel. The dangers of paddling a fiberglass paddleboard in open ocean are considerable: unrelenting currents, winds, waves, sun, stinging Portuguese Man-o’-wars and large marine predators. Accompanying Owens on the escort boat will be veteran lifeguard Dave Yester, who is prepared to guide the crew in case of emergency. When Owens tried to make the crossing in May, he surrendered 54 miles into the journey, succumbing to hypoglycemia and fatigue after 16 excruciating hours of paddling. In 1998, Tom Stone and Sam Hawk also made failed attempts.
