KENNY DOUDT
Longtime Kauai Surfer Perishes Off Coast

Ken seen here with the board he was riding when bitten by a shark off Oregon.

The waters off of Kauai claimed yet another surfer this year as long-time resident and avid waterman Kenny Doudt died while surfing on Kauai’s south shore. Doudt was 53 years old and passed away on May 5. According to friends, Doudt was an integral part of the Kauai surf scene and was extremely well liked by all who knew him. “He was the man. He was a great surfer. He took care of everybody,” said friend Alvin Ganzer. “That’s the way we do things down here.”

Doudt was the third experienced surfer to die off of Kauai’s south shore in the past 12 months. According to local news reports, Eric Carvalho, 48, and Russell Souza, 47, like Doudt, had surfed the area for decades. Carvalho died last July, and Souza died in September 2005. The number of experienced surfers drowning in the past 12 months has left the Kauai surfing community shaking their heads. “It’s just baffling to me,” said surf shop owner Miguel Graham.

According to a Kauai police department, Doudt was found floating face down at about 2:45 p.m. 
By the time three surfers had paddled him from the peak to the shore, Doudt had perished. County Public Information Officer Mary Daubert said that autopsy results confirmed the cause of death was drowning.

Doudt made headlines nearly 27-years ago when he was brutally attacked by a 15-foot Great White off the coast of Oregon. The attack nearly killed Doudt, causing a massive laceration down the left side of his body, draining him of six pints of blood. Miraculously, Doudt survived the attack and was back in the water two-and-a-half months later. Doudt would later go on to move to Hawaii and author a book about the attack entitled, Surfing with the Great White Shark and also maintained a website at www.shark-bite.com

Surf legend and long-time friend Margo Oberg echoed the sad sentiments about Doudt’s passing, “He was just a really good guy. We are gonna miss him a lot around here.”