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Those gathered are holding out hope that the body of Willis Lewis Frazier, alongtime member of the Hilton Head Island shrimping community, will be found.
Frazier, 50, one of two crew members aboard the commercial shrimp trawler Miss Pudgy, fell off the rail of the 56-foot boat around 5 p.m. last Wednesday about four miles off the north end of Hilton Head, the Coast Guard said.
At the candlelight vigil honoring Frazier Wednesday night, family members and friends say they haven't given up hope his body will be recovered. The vigil was held at the Spanish Welles home of one of his sister, Mildred Young.
Another sister, Annie Mae Frazier, said she worried the body could be tangled up in the boat's nets.
Ronald Stewart, whose father Benjamin owns the Miss Pudgy, said he and some of Frazier's friends and family will try to retrieve the nets today in the hope of finding the fisherman's body.
Stewart, who had fished with Frazier for over 30 years, said he had planned to be aboard the vessel the day Frazier was lost, but a back injury had kept him ashore.
"The Coast Guard did what they could," he said. "We just want to try and bring a little closure to the family. As we walk the boat, we still see him -- his spirit is still there."
When Frazier's' father died -- he is survived by three brothers in addition to two sisters -- Annie Mae Frazier said she took care of her then 15-year-old brother, who would sometimes skip school to go fishing.
"He had been fishing all his life and everybody just knew him as Captain Bill," she said.
Rescue crews searched for Frazier until 6 p.m. Thursday, calling off the search after about 24 hours, the Coast Guard said last week.
"It was hard when they called the search off," Annie Mae Frazier said.
Frazier's only child, Cindy Wilson, 30, of Hardeeville, said her father adored his grandchildren -- two girls and two boys -- and worked to "make everybody happy."
"It happened so fast," she said. "He was a good man."
Wilson said she spent time on boats while her dad worked. He often called her his "little striker," she said with a laugh.
Frazier and his cousin, Irvin Chisolm, with whom Frazier had been living, had gone to work together Wednesday morning, their first day on the trawler, and hadn't encountered any problems until later that afternoon, Chisolm said.
Frazier, who was a life-long Hilton Head resident, was a skilled mechanic and fisherman known by many as a "fix-it" man, said Thelma Byas, who spoke at the vigil. The engine on the Miss Pudgy had died that afternoon, and Frazier tried to unsuccessfully to fix it.
Frazier had taken off his life jacket moments before he fell, Chisolm said.
"We ran hard and had to shut the engine off," he said. "He had said he didn't feel well, but he looked OK."
Chisolm has been working since last week to get the boat running so he and others can search for their friend's body.
Frazier was diagnosed with epilepsy about three years ago, sister Annie Mae said. Eugene Orage, owner of the Rip Tide, said he had talked to Frazier on Tuesday and begged him not to go out, because of his health.
But Frazier didn't let the illness keep him from fishing -- or helping others with their boats -- Annie Mae said.
"He was always the Captain," she said, "but he would help anyone whenever they needed it."
