FRENCHBORO, Maine — The trap line caught Captain 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 Captain Jay, 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 eighth grade at Mount Desert Elementary School. They are also learning to fish. They’re also learning that they have what it takes to be heroes.
The Frenchboro brothers had been spending the summer aboard Captain Jay’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.”
Last week, the town of Frenchboro commended the brothers for what it called “extraordinary courage and decisive action,” saying their quick thinking saved a life.
When the town of Frenchboro recognized the boys with a commendation for what they had done, Hayden was surprised by the reaction.
“I just didn’t expect so much attention,” he said. “I thought this was just something people do.”
Captain Jay’s foot became entangled in the trap line just as the trap went overboard.
In just moments, Captain Jay could be dragged off deck and into the water.
“Despite being urged to let go for their own safety, the two apprentices acted without hesitation and with remarkable clarity,” the commendation from the Frenchboro Select Board reads.
One of the boys grabbed the captain so he couldn’t get pulled over. The other brother put slack on the line. Working together, they kept Captain Jay from falling over and untangled him from the line.
“Their coordinated actions, steady judgment, and refusal to abandon their captain directly prevented a fatality,” the commendation reads.
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. 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,” Hodgkins said.
Those skills and strengths created a positive outcome.
“Immediately afterwards, I described it like this: I would love to wrap them in bubble wrap, because I’m their mom. The reality of doing so, however, would keep them from living and learning. 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: that they inherently knew what to do, and were driven by love and camaraderie, and that they understood the importance of the moment,” Hodgkins said.
Working on the water is no stranger to the brothers.
“Chris and I were married in 2024,” Hodgkins said, “and we each have friends and family that have been involved in the working waterfront to some capacity: from marine mechanics, wooden boat building, scalloping, lobstering, and more. The first time we brought the boys to Frenchboro, their jaws dropped on sight. 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 you ask them specifically 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. He knows each part and its function. On his first flight in an airplane he already had the terminology to explain to me how the engine and flaps worked. That is his dream. In the meantime, Jay’s shop serves as his playground, which he so kindly lets the boys treasure hunt in,” Hodgkins 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.’”
This story was originally published by The Bar Harbor Story. To receive regular coverage from the Bar Harbor Story, sign up for a free subscription here.