Sunny, then seven, coaxed his neighbor Elgin to help him lug the board to the marbly waters of Maili Point a few blocks away. That afternoon Sunny surfed his first waves, a little fearfully since he had not yet learned to swim. He says that whenever he got in over his head, he held on to the surfboard as if his life depended on it. From a half mile away you can spot Sunny Garcia in the water and know who it is. His strong, purposeful carve is unmistakable as he glides into the barrel of a wave, kicks out with a heavy snap and sweeps back toward the open sea.
Some guys have power, some have beauty.
No one flows with the ocean like he does. When Sunny's out there, you stop what you're doing, camp out on the beach and watch. Breathtaking form, though, is not enough to win the world title of pro surfing, as Garcia did last year. Garcia's victory, at age 30, came deep into a colorful career in which he had become the master of the near miss. Before 2000 he had finished in the top 10 in each of the 10 previous seasons and as high as third in four of those years.