Poor Chris Owens. After all, when your resume includes stints as a teenage professional surfer and skateboarder, a musician and fisherman, when your "done-that" list includes a treacherous ocean crossing last accomplished by a guy named "Tarzan" 65 years ago, when your interisland travel plans involve nothing more than 17.5-foot paddleboard, there's just no escaping the inevitable question:

So, Chris, what's next?

But Owens, an expert waterman from Sunset Beach who routinely makes the superhuman seem mundane, may have bought himself a short reprieve from The Question with his latest feat: paddleboarding across the channels connecting each of the major Hawaiian Islands.

The historic quest began July 16 with a 50-mile solo crossing from 'Upolu Point on the Big Island to La Perouse, Maui, and ended Aug. 6 with a nine-mile trip from Maui to waters just off Kaho'olawe.

In between, Owens participated in the Honolua Surf Co. Maui International Paddle Board Championships and successfully paddled from Maui to Lana'i, Maui to Moloka'i, and Moloka'i to O'ahu. Last year, he made a grueling 76-mile crossing from O'ahu to Kaua'i. All with little more than his paddleboard (shaped by Harold Iggy), Mendo Maté energy tea and an escort boat.

Owens said the accomplishment was especially gratifying because 13-year-old son CJ also competed at the paddleboard championships and joined him for two of the toughest interisland crossings, becoming the youngest documented person to paddleboard solo between islands.

"He's my pride and joy," Owens says of CJ. "It was an unbelievable experience to do this with him."

In paddleboarding, riders lay prone or kneel on large boards, powered only by their arms. Skilled paddleboarders like Owens know how to read the ocean and connect swells to propel themselves forward.

Owens, who started surfing at age 6, is considered one of the state's best paddleboarders at age 46. He has completed the grueling Moloka'i-to-O'ahu race in each of the last seven years. He was the first person to make the O'ahu to Kaua'i crossing since Gene "Tarzan" Smith in 1940.

By connecting each of the major islands, however, Owens would have a unique and indelible place in history.

The journey began with a dedication to his lifelong heroes Duke Kahanamoku and Eddie Aikau, and a traditional Hawaiian blessing by members of the Malama Na Pua Traditional Healing Center at the Kamehameha birthplace on the Big Island. (Owens' manager, Brian Emery, was a spiritual advisor with the organization.)

Owens said his affiliation with the group has strengthened his desire to support Hawaiian cultural preservation efforts.

"I just wanted to raise awareness about the need to preserve Hawaiian culture, especially for Hawaiians. Hawai'i is slowly becoming more like the Mainland, and they're getting left behind."

Owens also used his pursuit to encourage responsible stewardship of the ocean. Before the Moloka'i-to-O'ahu race, he urged his fellow paddleboarders not to dump their bottles and wrappers in the water.

Three days after the Big Island-to-Maui crossing, Owens set off from Honolua Bay on Maui to Shipwreck Beach on Lana'i.

"That was a really good paddle," he said. "I came in right at the wreck (a sunken interisland oil ship). It was so awesome, so eerie and beautiful."

CJ flew over from O'ahu the next day and on July 23, father and son competed in the 9.5-mile Honolua Surf Co. Maui International Paddle Board Championships. Chris placed first in his age division; CJ, one of the state's promising young surfers and paddleboarders, placed second in the under-17 division.

Like his father, Chris is a waterman born. At age 2, he was riding at the toe of his father's longboard. He stood up on a board for the first time at age 4; three years later, he was surfing in local competitions.

CJ's skills as a paddleboarder also were apparent early. At his first paddleboard race at age 8, he placed third against paddlers as old as 13. He would win the same competition two years later, and defend his crown twice after that.

Tutored by renown Australian coach Mick Dibetta, CJ is one of a handful of local paddleboarders to have mastered the quick and powerful Aussie-style "knee paddling" technique. Many local paddleboarders grew up paddling in the prone position.

Perhaps the biggest test of CJ's young career came on July 26 when he and Chris paddled from from the north tip of Honolua Bay to Moloka'i via the notorious Pailolo ("slapped silly") channel.

Conditions seemed favorable as the two paddled the first four miles north toward Holawa Point. But then 15-knot winds from the northeast began to push the paddlers off course as they battled 3- to 6-foot waves.

"The downwind route was 15 miles, but I wanted to get CJ there as fast as possible, so we took the 8.5-mile one," Chris Owens said. "It was super rough. The channel really did live up to its name."

Eventually, Owens decided to turn downwind in a westerly direction so he and CJ could let the waves work to their advantage.

Approaching the shore at Waialua, the Owens were blown past the channel and were forced to come in through the surf a quarter-mile out.

The 2-hour, 10-minute ordeal ended sweetly enough with a warm greeting from venerable paddler Penny Martin, a member of the first Hokule'a voyage.

By completing the difficult crossing, CJ became the youngest known paddleboarder to make an interisland crossing.

For Chris Owens, it was the highlight of the entire journey.

"It was just amazing," Owens said. "It was all about being there to watch him achieve it."

CJ admitted that he was a little nervous about the crossing, but his father's presence bolstered his resolve.

"It wasn't like a race, where you feel the pressure to win," he said. "The only pressure was to finish. I had some doubts, but basically I just had to paddle through it."

Next on the itinerary was the Quiksilver Edition Moloka'i-to-O'ahu Paddleboard Race, which the Owens' entered as a team. They alternated in 30 minute intervals, one paddling furiously, the other recuperating in a nearby escort boat. CJ had the final leg, and Chris joined him. They hit the beach, hand in hand, arms raised in victory, to a standing ovation. Another "amazing, unbelievable" moment for Chris.

"We do everything together," Chris said. "We surf together, skate together, paddleboard together, fish together. Every time I do something, I want my son to be there."

For the final stage of the journey, Chris and friend Kiva Rivers paddleboarded nine miles from Maui to Kaho'olawe via Molokini. To abide by the island's strict regulations, they equipped their boards with fishing gear and turned around about 40 yards from shore.

"It was just amazing," said CJ, borrowing his father's favorite word to describe the accomplishment. "At the same time, it's like 'Yeah, my dad did that.' It's almost normal. What's the next crazy thing he's going to do?"

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.