Post #77252 by Chongolio on Sat, Feb 21, 2004 6:53 PM

We were comin' round the bend getting ready to check the surf at Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz, when Chongolia saw a carved log in the back of a parked pick up truck. We doubled back to check it out and sure enough there was a tiki being erected at Night Fighter Park.
The carver was there and I spoke with him a bit. Here is what I learned from him.
His name is Wil and he can be contacted through his site:
http://www.sctikis.com
He carved this tiki as a tribute to his friend Jay Moriarty, the young surfing pro who tragically drowned in the Maldives a few years back. More about Jay here:
http://www.surfline.com/surfaz/moriarty_jay.cfm
Wil had been working on it for the last two years and had to get permission from http://www.packyourtrash.com Also known as the Pleasure Point Night Fighters, a non-profit who maintains the park and host numereous beach clean-ups. They were totally cool with the idea and gave two thumbs up.
The tiki went up overlooking the ocean with very little fanfare only a few early morning onlookers. By the time I got back with my camera the 3 man crew was gone. Still the tiki looks killer, has a spectacular view of the point and is a wonderful tribute to a local hero. I am stoked to have a new tiki in the neighborhood. Here it is:

Chongolio