This is an edited and condensed version of a story originally published by Bar Harbor Story. To receive regular coverage from Bar Harbor Story, sign up for a free email subscription at barharborstory.com.
FRENCHBORO—The trap line caught Capt. Jay Fiandaca’s foot as the trap went overboard, Aug. 11.
Suddenly, Fiandaca was at immediate risk of being pulled from the deck of the Amanda Rose.
He told the two young fishermen working alongside him to let go, to do it for their own safety.
Instead, they held on.
One of the brothers secured Fiandaca, keeping him from being dragged overboard. The other worked the line, creating enough slack to free his captain from the entanglement.
Those brothers, Lukas and Hayden Fortin, are just entering 8th grade at Mount Desert Elementary School. They are also learning to fish—and that they have what it takes to be heroes.
The Frenchboro brothers had been spending the summer aboard Fiandaca’s FV Amanda Rose, working under the mentorship of a fisherman that their mother, Melyssa Hodgkins, describes as patient, deeply respected, and loved by the community. On Aug. 11, that apprenticeship became something much more consequential.
When the boys came home that day, Hodgkins remembers what they said. It wasn’t about themselves. It was about their captain.
“Mom. Today was hard,” they told her. “We just hope Jay is OK.”
Afterwards, the Town of Frenchboro commended the brothers for what it called “extraordinary courage and decisive action,” saying their quick thinking saved a life.
Hayden was surprised by the reaction.
“I just didn’t expect so much attention,” he said. “I thought this was just something people do.”
Fiandaca’s foot became entangled in the trap line just as the trap went overboard. In just moments, he could have been dragged off deck and into the water. But by working together, the boys kept the captain from falling over and untangled him from the line.
“Despite being urged to let go for their own safety, the two apprentices acted without hesitation and with remarkable clarity,” the commendation reads. “Their coordinated actions, steady judgment, and refusal to abandon their captain directly prevented a fatality.”
According to Hodgkins, “Jay is incredible, and so loved by our community. He truly cares about all the island kids and has the patience of a saint. He’s mentored many young fishermen, so when he asked them to go they didn’t hesitate (except to ask their mother first).”
They were likely the perfect team to take action.
“Hayden has always been very cautious and wants to be prepared. If he could, he’d choose to see the future, just so he knows what to expect from it,” Hodgkins said. “Lukas was born to be a helper, with anything and everything; he cares deeply about people and aims to please. They’ve both worked very hard, each year, to develop their own unique strengths and capabilities.”
While Hodgkins said she’d “love to wrap them in bubble wrap,” she also recognizes the need for them to keep “living and learning.” She went on, “The growth and confidence I’ve seen in them over the summer, while they’ve worked with Jay, has been incredible. Proud doesn’t begin to cover how I feel.”
The boys are no strangers to working on the water.
They have friends and family who are involved with the working waterfront in various ways, from marine mechanics to wooden boat building, scalloping, lobstering, and more.
“The first time we brought the boys to Frenchboro, their jaws dropped on sight,” Hodgkins said. “They love the freedom the island allows and its fishing community. Each year their interest in being a part of it grows.”
On Frenchboro, the working waterfront is not an abstraction. It is part of the landscape, the community and, for some families, the future.
For Lukas and Hayden, it has also become a classroom, a life lesson, and a chance to show exactly what kind of humans they are—the exceptional kind.
If they were asked what they want to do when they grow up, “Lukas will tell you ‘an aeronautical engineer.’ He loves to build. It started with paper airplanes and has since grown to fully functioning RC aircraft, which he built at his school’s science and engineering club,” their mother said.
“When Lukas’ gears start spinning and the creative lights come on, know where your hot glue guns are plugged in folks. Hayden will say he doesn’t really know what he wants to be or do; he’s still watching, but ‘I’ll probably be a lobsterman.’”
