WEDNESDAY N WIND 15 TO 20 KT. GUSTS TO 25 KT DEVELOPING IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 FT. W SWELL 7 FT AT 8 SECONDS.
Today's post from yesterday...
Koloa surfer had survived great white attack
by Blake Jones - The Garden Island
County officials have identified 53-year-old Kenneth Doudt as the surfer who drowned Saturday across from the Lawai Beach Resort in Koloa.The Koloa resident was an avid surfer who survived a great white shark attack at the age of 26 off the coast of Oregon and lived to write a book about it.
According to Nukumoi Surf Co. manager Miguel Graham, a family friend for more than 20 years, Doudt will be missed. “Kenny was a good guy, a good surfer, a good father and a good friend,” Graham said yesterday. According to Graham, Doudt and a few other guys were surfing at Centers Beach at about 1:45 p.m. The last he was seen, Doudt had caught a wave, surfed it and paddled back out. Graham said he and others are unsure what happened next. Doudt was found floating face down at about 2:45 p.m., according to a police department press release.
By the time three surfers had paddled him to shore, paramedics were already on the scene. Shortly thereafter, around 3 p.m., Doudt was pronounced dead at Wilcox Memorial Hospital. According to Graham, who was at the scene, Doudt did not appear to have any head trauma and he doesn’t believe the cause of death had to do with the surf. “The waves were small that day,” he said. “He died of something else, we just don’t know yet.”
According to county Public Information Officer Mary Daubert, deaths that occur in the water are designated as drownings. More information on the circumstances surrounding the incident was not available by press time. The drowning marks the fifth of the year on Kaua‘i. A near-drowning late last week at the same beach where Doudt was found was reported by The Garden Island on Saturday. In that incident a female snorkeler was rescued by a nearby swimmer.
Graham said Doudt is survived by his three sons, ages 30, 28 and 17. Two of the sons — Justin Doudt and Jeremy “Skiz” Doudt, who Graham described as one of Kaua‘i’s top surfers — live on-island. Jeremy Doudt did not want to comment yesterday. A memorial service will take place at a later date, and a surfer’s paddle is being planned for sometime this week. Graham said he will remember Doudt for his carefree attitude about life. “He’s going to be missed by a lot of people,” Graham said. “He’s a piece of the puzzle where we hang out and now a big piece of the puzzle will be missing.”
4 comments:
Condolences and respect. Was it the 1st attack on a surfer in OR?
Classic shot. Luvin the wetsuit. I heard the bar was like all time that year man and it's never been the same : ) Wonder what it was like surfing the NoCo in the 70's? Bet it was chill and uncrowded if you could deal with the wetsuit technology or lack there of. Guess it wasn't good enough for Kenny though.
Don't think I really want to read that book. No offense to Kenny and I'm not saying this was his motivation, but funny how OR shark attack victims always try to cash in on thier experience. One guy in GB got new board and wetsuit from Surfing, can't say I blame him. Another went for it filming the whole thing, did the late night talk shows, and starred or should I say scared on a Nike commercial. Although the last victim, took the opposite route and remained anonyms.
Doudt's injuries from the bites left him with life long problems, one of them being able to deal with cold water.His move to the Islands was a response to those effects, so that he could continue to surf.
Injuries or not a big step up in my book. I'd do it if I could, wait maybe I can. Time will tell.
As a 19 year old kid working on a shrimp boat out of Warrenton, Oregon in 1980, I met the "old dude" (I think just 6 or 7 years older than I am) sitting at the bar of one of the local drinking establishments with lax ID requirements. I struck up a conversation with him and after a while of BSing, he told me he was "the guy". I was wide-eyed and glued to my bar stool as he told me the story. I asked him to see the bite and he lifted up his shirt - It was definitely the biggest scar in the bar! Horrific, really. I figure writing a book on the incident is a service to society - the surfers, the marine biologists and the general public. I applaud him. I have nothing but respect for the dude. I moved on to college and pursued a career with the feds where 20 years later, I personally met another swimmer who was attacked by a Great White. She, too, was a warrior in my book, sans her entire leg from the hip. I love to swim in the ocean but don't like the idea of my nether regions exposed to the dark depths. Just me, even though I know the statistics make it an astronomically rare occurrence. Then again, what are the odds of random meetings with two people who were attacked by a Great White? All the soul surfers and folks that jump into the big blue (green, grey, brown and black) are brave Mofos in my book and my hat goes off to all of them, including Kenny, rest his soul. I wanna read whatever they get the inclination to write, especially when it's an encounter with nature and all its glory. Sometimes, we are not the boss and that's a good thing in my book.
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