Family turns grief to lifesaving aid
For 15 minutes last January, Sharmistha Chakraborty helplessly watched her 12-year-old son Arunay Pruthi struggle to keep his head above water as cold, powerful waves pulled him further out to sea.
The Fremont mother has since come to believe that Arunay might have survived being carried off by a sneaker wave south of Half Moon Bay, if there had been a life ring buoy available with at least 100 feet of rope.
“I am certain that if the beachgoers had a ring that day, they could have just thrown it out to him,” Chakraborty said, explaining that she saw her son only about 50 feet from the shore, though he was quickly drifting away. “If there was a rope, he would be here with us today.“
Since losing Arunay, Chakraborty, her husband Tarun Pruthi and a coalition of family friends have launched a foundation in the boy’s name, dedicated to protecting others from being swept away by dangerous waves during visits to Northern California beaches. Arunay perished from a sneaker wave, so called because these waves of unexpected
size and power strike without warning.
The Arunay Foundation helped raise money and worked with the San Mateo County Harbor District and other government agencies to install four life ring stations at beaches in and around Half Moon Bay.
A ceremony to dedicate those stations took place Wednesday at Pillar Point Harbor. About 200 people, including dignitaries from multiple agencies, came to support Arunay’s family and to honor the memory of the “loving, handsome and athletic” seventh grader who loved soccer and movies, as family friend Vikram Saxena said at the ceremony.
“Inspired by the love, passion and concern shown by so many in the community, (Arunay’s parents) decided to channel their enormous grief and loss into an effort which can prevent such tragedies in the future,” Saxena said.
Working with Sea Valor, a nonprofit that helps with ocean rescues, the foundation wants to help other communities make life ring stations available at beaches up and down the coast.
Each station consists of a preserver and rope stored on a tall wooden post. People on shore can grab the ring and toss it out to someone in the water, instead of trying to swim out themselves, which puts the rescuer at risk of drowning.
Arunay was swept out when he, his parents and family friend Sanjeev Kulkarni rushed into the ocean to retrieve Arunay’s 8-year-old brother, Siddhant, who had been playing near the water when the sneaker wave caught him.
Other beachgoers managed to pull Arunay’s parents and brother from the water, but Arunay slipped away past the line of breaking waves. Beachgoers quickly used tents, towels and other items to fashion a safety line that Arunay could hold onto until rescuers arrived, but their line wasn’t long enough to reach him, Kulkarni said.
The foundation’s mission includes raising public awareness of ocean hazards. Signs posted at the top of each life ring station refer to recent fatalities and warn people: “Never turn your back on the ocean.”
The installation comes at a time when ocean turbulence generally begins its rise. From November through February, high surf and high waves are “typical,” said Warren Blier, science officer for the San Francisco Bay Area Forecast Office of the National Weather Service.