Atop the cliffs of Pleasure Point stands a warrior, a guardian continually sweeping a stony gaze over the point and eastward across the waters of the bay. His mouth is stretched wide in a massive grimace, his mighty teeth ready to gnash all challengers. His brow is creased with deep furrows that continue across the back of his head and down his body. Above a set of gnarly six-pack abs, he holds a placard that reads, "To Jay." The "warrior" is a tiki statue carved by Will Zilliacus, Santa Cruz resident and friend of the late-Jay Moriarity. Zilliacus donated the tiki as a memorial to Moriarity, a surfer, waterman and beloved member of the Santa Cruz community who died in a diving accident in the Maldives in June 2001.

"I basically think Jay was a legend in this town," said Zilliacus. "Even though he was a big-time pro and the youngest guy to surf Maverick’s, he was one of the most humble and nice guys you’d ever meet. I wanted people to remember Jay."

CHAINSAW ART
Tikis are basically Hawaiian gods, meant to guard against evil spirits, according to Zilliacus, but their origin is somewhat elusive.

"It’s a hard one to pinpoint, because every culture has their own totems, which are basically tikis," he said.

A money manager by day, Zilliacus had never thought of himself as an artist. But he knew he liked tikis, and several years ago he had the idea that he wanted to start making them.

"My buddy and I had a shave-ice business, and we were using tikis as props," he said. "I just really admired them. I don’t exactly know what made me start making them."

Zilliacus’ then-girlfriend, now his wife, bought him an electric chainsaw, and he and a friend gave tiki carving a go.

"The first one came out pretty rustic," he said. "It kind of looked like Homer Simpson. But I just loved doing it, and nowadays they’re turning out really nice."

Zilliacus estimates there are only a handful of tiki carvers in the United States, excluding Hawaii.

NIGHT FIGHTER APPROVED
The Pleasure Point Night Fighters, a neighborhood group that created the tiny park in Pleasure Point at the corner of East Cliff and Pleasure Point drives about 20 years ago, gave Zilliacus the approval to mount his massive statue - which is made of a solid redwood log and stands well over 6 feet tall - and did the work to set it there in a base of concrete.

"One of the reasons we decided to do it was because Jay was a Night Fighter, and he was also a member of Big Stick Surfing Association, which I’m also a member of," said Phil Matthews, vice president of the Pleasure Point Night Fighters. "And it was made for him -- Will did it as a dedication. It seemed very appropriate for us to put it up in memory of Jay in our park."

Moriarity’s widow, Kimberly, said she thinks the tiki makes a nice addition to the park.

"I think it’s beautiful and fits perfect with the environment there," she said. "It’s a place where someone can just sit and talk to Jay if they want to."

TALL ORDERS
Zilliacus says that word of mouth and a Web site devoted to tiki news has promoted his reputation as a tiki carver, and he now has about 20 orders to work on. A few of his tikis were at the Holiday Inn in Santa Cruz (now the UCSC Inn and Conference Center) before they were stolen, and a surf shop in Cornwall, England, has five of them. A few are also floating around Australia.

But most of Zilliacus’ sales are through eBay to East Coast buyers.

"That’s been my biggest customer base, people on the East Coast, Chicago and stuff," said Zilliacus. "There’s a big tiki culture there. I think people like to decorate their basements in a tiki motif, so they’ve got all this cool decor and bamboo and tropical theme and mixed drinks -- probably because it’s so cold."

A medium-size tiki costs about $400, while one the size and quality of the Moriarity memorial would be about $6,000, Zilliacus said. He also likes to do trades for surfboards or mountain bikes. In fact, it’s often when he’s mountain biking that he finds the logs he uses for carving.

"I try not to use any wood from trees that were cut down," he said. "I try to use salvage wood either from the beach or stuff that loggers can’t use."

While he doesn’t plan to quit his day job, Zilliacus says carving tikis is a fulfilling passion. Being a new father, he only has time to carve about one a month, but he’d like to expand into making tikis that double as furniture and home decor.

Santa Cruz residents are fortunate enough to able to stop in the park to enjoy Zilliacus’ work and dream of exotic island destinations or take a moment to remember Jay Moriarity. Community members hope the tiki will grace the cliffs for a very long time.

"The tiki gives aloha spirit," said Kimberly Moriarity. "It makes you remember. People can’t forget, because that’s when you become unconscious.

"Life’s short," she said. "Precious."