KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii – Friends and family are honoring the life of 47-year-old Randy Llanes, the Kona fisherman and boat captain who died Friday after a freak encounter in which he was impaled by the bill of a swordfish.

Mourning their loss, friends and family gathered by the small dingy Llanes owned, Grandpa John. They threw flower petals into the waters of Honokohau Harbor, where the incident occurred. Later in the day, a group swam out to where Llanes died, bringing with them a maile lei in his honor.

Llanes reportedly spotted the swordfish swimming in the back area of the harbor and jumped in the water to spear it. After firing the spear gun into the fish, it reportedly punctured his chest with its bill. Llanes was unresponsive when he was pulled from the water. He was pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital later that day.

The swordfish that killed Randy Llanes measured about 3 feet long, with a bill length of about 3 feet, and weighed about 40 pounds, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Everyone had very kind words to say about Randy, according to Lynn Beittel, who filmed some of the expressions of sadness at the harbor Friday afternoon. Those who gathered told her Randy “was generous, gave away a lot of fish, was very popular within the fishing community, was a bowler, was an experienced fisherman.”