Mussel Rock Site Guide

Prevent Water Landings | Launch Location Information | Avoid Blowback
Rotor Awareness | Dumps Site Checklist | Emergency Contacts | Directions to Site

Mussel Rock, Site Description

Mussel Rock is an amazing flying site. Behind the launches, the cliffs rise as high as 640′ MSL. The cliffs extend to the north and south for a few miles in each direction, which makes this site so amazing and dynamic. On a good day, views of San Francisco and the greater Bay Area can be achieved.  This guide is available and many pilots with broad experience  just need the pointers in the below guide to proceed to flying this great site.   On the other hand, even my own students rave about how much better they feel after a personalized intro with coaching.   For some pilots, the full intro with coaching might not be desired, so I have the two versions, one with just 90 minutes of discussion, the other with that followed by radio coaching.   If interested, links to my store description for each are Live Intro Walk Through (just discussion), and  Live Intro including coaching (Radio Coaching after walk and talk)

One of the greatest features of this site is that it has an abundant and virtually rotor free landing area. This is because the plateau area near the launches lies behind a ridge with a smooth edge without a sharp drop off. At the same time, the site is quite complex.

The hazards vary based on the wind direction and velocity, as well as the rapid changes that can occur with the weather. On one day, the wind can be perfectly steady and 10 MPH at the low cliffs, and not much more than 13 MPH up high with virtually no gust factor. On another day, the wind might be 10 MPH and W at the lower launches, but be blowing 20 MPH, some other direction, and extremely gusty at the upper cliffs.

Clear, blue, days are rare during the summer. On some days, the fog can be all the way down to the beach, blocking flying completely. On others, the fog can be up above cliff level, with frequent level changes. Continuous monitoring of the fog and winds should become second nature as you fly here.

Landing in the water is not an option! There have been three drowning deaths of Paraglider Pilots at or near Mussel Rock. It is imperative to know where the tide is each day you fly. You can visually check the tides and how much beach is there from several vantage points between the parking lot and Walker Launch. Before heading to Mussel Rock to fly, you can look at this tide chart for Pacifica’s beaches. Below is a full section on avoiding landing in the water and where the bailouts are. For planning and checking on conditions, there is a useful page I created about wind and weather conditions for the Mussel Rock area with the local weather stations.

Different wind directions and velocities change how safety should be approached at the different launches and LZs. Vertical and horizontal edges act as triggers and create many hazardous rotors on the face of the Westlake cliffs and at the other connected ridges.

Mussel Rock is often a busy site. Some days, paragliding pilots share the air with hang gliders and RC planes. In addition to the site being unregulated, not every pilot perceives the right of way rules the same. Being comfortable with such traffic and the standard rules is critical, but also adapting to a breach of rules becomes necessary. All pilots should continuously fly in a predictable fashion, and keep their eyes and attention proactive for other pilots and crafts.

When you begin flying at a new site, contact or talk with the locals and gather information. This is even more important with Mussel Rock, because of the complex nature of the site. Although it attempts to cover much, it cannot come close to covering all the hazards. Every day is different at a site like this, so understanding the effect of different wind directions, changing conditions, fog and other variables takes time and first-hand observations.

If Mussel Rock were regulated, it would likely be a P3 site with a P2 “sign off” after an introductory period. Compared to other ridge soaring sites, Mussel Rock has unique factors that make it much more hazardous than others. The local club, the Bay Area Paragliding Association, “BAPA“, looks after the site to promote site safety.

Never fly alone. Without another person’s awareness of anything happening to you during a flight, help will not be available. The other person does not necessarily have to be a pilot. Someone just needs to be there and aware of your presence.  Awareness of risks and risk management are the keys to flying here. This site guide will cover the prominent issues related to the site, but cannot cover all of them. More important than reading this information is to get a thorough introduction to the site from a local pilot or instructor. After this, find some local pilots to join and help your understanding of the site dynamics grow.

There have been several fatalities at the site and many serious injuries. The major risks of flying here include the following:

Primary Hazards

• Water Landing and Possibility of Drowning (Full discussion of the site, bailout LZs, necessity of hook knife, what to do in a water landing, etc.)
• Sometimes the tides cover the entire beach. Other times the surf and water cover most of the beach. There are days where landing on the beach is possible, but landing at the bailout LZs above the surf zone is a much safer method. Every time you fly at Mussel Rock, check the beach and gain a perspective of how high the tide is.
• If you ever land on the beach, immediately disconnect from the wing and then move the glider as far as possible from the water. If a wing is in the water, remember it is only equipment, and your primary responsibility is to ensure your safety from the water.
• Blowbacks (Discussion of methods to prevent and avoid blowbacks)
• Mussel Rock has high cliffs above lower launches. The wind gradient can create huge differences in wind velocity between launch and flights to upper cliffs. Above and behind the high cliffs are houses, roads and power lines. When the wind is strong, the mechanical turbulence in this area is extreme. Many pilots have become a victim to the high winds above the top of the ridge and have been blown back.
• Prevention methods are far less complex than those required once a blowback begins. Read this article to learn methods for continual wind speed monitoring while flying at Mussel Rock.
• Rotors (Discussion of mechanical turbulence, what causes it and some ways to perceive where it is)
• Class B Airspace The departure path for San Francisco International Airport flies directly over Mussel Rock. The ceiling for ultralight craft is 1,600 ft. (changed in 2019, was 1,500 previously).  Normally it is difficult to fly this high, but in a wind shear, pilots can exceed this altitude. Being in the path of a commercial jet would not only endanger you, but also the jet and everyone in it. If you are flying and have the skill to fly in a wind shear, find a way to stay below 1,600 ft at Mussel Rock. North of the Westlake cliffs, the ceiling lifts to 2,100 ft.

Continue to next page (Prevent water landings)