In 2015, 18 members of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale J Pod entered outer Quartermaster Harbor only to depart 20 minutes later. On November 5, 2023, all 25 members of J Pod again entered outer Quartermaster Harbor, but this time they kept going all the way to the inner harbor.
Word spread quickly through texts and social media. By sunset, Jensen Point was packed with whale watchers. What a show it was. The whales swam together in tight formations. They slapped their tails. They spy-hopped. They did not forage. Lit only by the light of the moon, J Pod spent the entire night in the harbor. Their tail slapping and respiratory sounds echoed across the water and wafted through island windows. Their visit was many things. Mysterious. Magical. Unreal. Beautiful. Unforgettable.
On November 6, J Pod made their exit as curiously as they came. Just after sunrise, they porpoised together at four times their usual rate of speed out of Quartermaster and past Manzanita where a lone photographer experienced the fly-by of a lifetime. J Pod turned the corner and headed north up Colvos Passage toward home.