Seaplane or Amphibian
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Sea
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 71; Flight Crew Total 1038; Flight Crew Type 700
Situational Awareness
Conflict NMAC; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Procedure; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors
While departing from Lake Berryessa (seaplane water takeoff from the lake); I spotted a paraglider being towed up to altitude by a boat on the lake. As paragliders commonly operate in this area and do not communicate with pilots on the CTAF; searching for them is part of my standard scan. As the towline is rarely visible from the air; I kept my eyes fixed on both the boat and the paraglider so that I could mentally draw a line where the tow cable should be. As I climbed up through 3;500 feet (staying clear of the paraglider); I saw something that looked like a small scratch on the transparent canopy of my aircraft. Upon further inspection; I realized it was the towline of a second paraglider; and made an immediate evasive action to avoid it. During the maneuver I spotted the paraglider several hundred feet up above me. In short; I was so focused on avoiding the first paraglider I completely missed a second one until I almost made contact with the tow line. As a seaplane pilot who is very familiar with the area and has hundreds of hours flying in and out of Lake Berryessa; this is extremely worrisome to me. Lake Berryessa has quite a bit of aviation traffic; and I have never felt concerned about midair collisions as all pilots in the area communicate with each other on 122.9. However; the lack of communication from the paragliders causes an extreme threat; especially to pilots not familiar with the airspace/seasonal operation of paragliders. Over the past two years; this problem has gotten worse and worse as the frequency of paraglider operations; the size of their operation area on the lake; and the number of tow boats pulling gliders at the same time have all increased. In my opinion; requiring the paraglide boats to monitor 122.9; or mark the towline with streamers for visibility; would go a long way to decrease the likelihood of a midair collision.
Light seaplane pilot reported an NMAC in the vicinity of Lake Berryessa with a paraglider and its towline. Reporter recommended that paraglider operators monitor CTAF or mark the towlines with streamers.