Former Cannon Beach man thankful to be alive after attack

By Chris Baker - The Cannon Beach Gazette
 (Shark photos are hotlinks to the Boat Talk Great White Shark page.)

Kenny Doudt has a lot to be thankful this holiday season. It was Thanksgiving week 22 years ago when he was the victim of one of the worst shark attacks recorded on the north coast – just a few waves from Haystack Rock.

   It was Nov. 27, 1979 when former Cannon Beach resident Doudt was mauled and nearly killed in the first recorded Great White attack off the Oregon Coast, also making it the northern  most recorded attack in world history.
   The attack on Doudt, 44, has been the only shark attack within the Cannon Beach fire district in the 23 years Fire Marshall Mike Graham has worked for the district.  Years have passed since the attack, but for Doudt, who still surfs, part of the recovery was hitting the waves again — although he never will forget the day that changed his life forever.

 “The fear is still there, probably more so now than at the time of the attack,” said Doudt, who suffered a deep laceration on his left side from the estimated 15 foot long, 4-foot wide shark.
   Doudt’s wounds were severe.
   A major laceration ran from just below his arm pit to the middle of his buttocks and extended across his back almost to his spinal column.  After he was rescued by fellow surfers, paramedics could see his exposed ribs, muscle tissue and organs. 

   He lost at least six pints of blood. 
   The doctors who worked on him on the way to St. Vincent's hospital in Portland couldn’t pump blood into him fast enough. His life literally flashed  before his eyes.
   Doudt, who was 26 at the time, recounted his tale in a book titled, “Surfing with the Great White Shark,” published in 1992. 
   Doudt remembers the morning of the attack well. 
   Jack Bird and Doudt were looking up and down the Cannon Beach area for some decent surf, which was hard to come by that particular day.  They had noticed several surfers taking advantage of the beach breaks near Haystack  Rock, however, they felt it was too crowded, so they left the area for Silver Point, only to return to Haystack about 30 minutes later. 

   This time, however, the ocean was empty.
   “Little did we know, these people were spookedout of the water by what they thought was an aggressive sea lion. They didn’t know it was a  shark either,” Doudt explained. “There was nothing abnormal. We were so excited, the waves were absolutely perfect that day. We surfed  for 15-20 minutes and never thought a shark was going to attack. That was the last  thing in my mind.”

   There was no warning of the attack. The shark struck suddenly, as Doudt’s friend and surfing companion, Steve Absher, watched in terror from a distance.
   “Floating on his board about 50 feet away, Steve stared in total unbelief as a mass of light gray rose out of the water, back arching, mouth agape, gill slits flapping, pectoral fins horizontal and rows of razor sharp teeth exposed,” wrote Doudt in his book. “I was not yet fully aware of what was happening. I felt tremendous pressure on my chest and heard ribs snapping and the crunching of the underside on my board as it (the shark) turned out to sea. I felt totally helpless.”

   Doudt was violently thrown around the ocean’s whitewash by the shark, “as a dog would with a bone or rag doll.”  His friends rescued him after the shark let go. They feared a second attack, so they moved quickly. Rescue officials arrived as hypothermia began to set in.
   Doudt pointed out that if the attack happened in a more tropical climate, he most likely would have died in less than 30 minutes because of blood loss. Reflecting on the attack, he still considers it one of the worst in history that  someone has survived.
   “Hypothermia is what saved me. I know my attack is right up there with the worse on record worldwide of course. But who’s to say what is  the worst? At the time it was (one of the worse). But, like I said, it was 22 years ago. There’s been  quite a few attacks since,” said Doudt. “It probably  was and still is for that certain type of attack, being that I was attacked in the torso.”

   Ironically, while it was cold water that almost  certainly saved Doudt, the same climate made his post-shark attack injuries and recovery more  painful. So he moved to Hawaii in 1982, just three years after the attack.
   “One of the main reasons was the cold (in Oregon) would really bother my back where I was bit. I couldn’t get used to the Northwest weather again. My ribs just never felt normal. I could feel the weather pretty well with it,” said Doudt.  “I always wanted go to Hawaii and the move was healing on its own, with moderate temperatures all year round.”
   And to this day, Doudt’s left side is extremely touchy, especially near his ribs. He can no longer golf or water ski. Even with the pain, however, he feels lucky to be alive. He thanks his doctors and  the Cannon Beach fire department for their response to the incident. He’s still grateful.

   And most local surfers are grateful that shark attacks on the Oregon Coast aren’t very common. They happen about once every 12 years and most of the time the shark will take one bite and lose interest quickly, according to Keith Chandler of the Seaside Aquarium.
   “I’d be much more afraid of hypothermia or falling off a rock than being attacked by a shark,” said Candler. “That’s what I’d look out for.”

Text and the surfboard photo (C) 2001 Cannon Beach Gazette  
Reprinted by permission.

October 2011 Attack Near Newport, Oregon    (x-link to local paper)