Legendary Chris Owens hospitalized after collision with other surfers at Waimea

The accident stirred up tensions among locals, big wave surfers and lifeguards who promise more control over who can go into the water and who can't.

January 4, 2023

Legendary big wave surfer Chris Owens suffered an accident while surfing at Waimea yesterday, Tuesday, January 3, and was sent to the hospital where a cut on his right foot was treated.

His accident, although not serious, awakened the community of big wave surfers who are disappointed by the lack of control in the lineups of the best and most dangerous waves in the world today.

Owens came down Waimea at the peak and had one surfer floating in front of him and another stealing the wave, which pretty much left him with no options; the surfer who rides the wave doesn't turn so Owens went straight into the floating surfer's board.

Several surfers reacted to photographer Jay F Kerns' post of the footage, including local lifeguard Joey Kahana Cadiz, who wrote: “No more of this shit. Whoever doesn't belong here is going to be sent to the beach!” he wrote in the comments.

And then, in a post on his own Instagram he announced: “A change is coming! No more guys buying a gun and ‘thinking’ they can surf Waimea. People who can barely swim, relying on floats, boards and luck to shoulder their way. They are done! I train for the worst situations and am ready for them, but that is not what I am out there for. Take a good moment to think about your skills, your training, your preparation and your care before you go surfing next time.”

Other comments referred to the call for a return to old-school controls where a surfer getting in the way of a local would be pulled out of the water and given “special treatment” by locals on the sand.

Owens' friends created a gofundme so that he can support himself during the three weeks that he will not be able to work.