Garrapata

• Wind directionW (270°) → NW (315°)
• Ideal speed8–15 mph
• Upper limits≤ 18 mph base · gusts ≤ 22

Garrapata is a low (89 ft MSL) west-facing coastal cliff site on the Big Sur / Monterey coast (Garrapata State Park, Hwy 1, ~6-7 mi south of Carmel). No explicit club/USHPA numeric site guide was found for it as a paragliding launch, so direction/speed values are inferred from the paraglidingEarth orientation hint (W, NW) plus general California coastal-soaring norms. Ideal arc is straight onshore W-to-NW (270-315 deg); sweet spot tracks the typical afternoon WNW-NW sea breeze. Marginal/cross arcs: SW side (~240-270) and N side (~315-335) become increasingly cross and soarability drops. Off-direction (S, E, NE) does not work. As a small soaring cliff, suggested ideal PG wind ~8-15 mph, max usable base ~18 mph, gusts much above ~20-22 mph become unsafe (blow-back/lift over the back, rotor behind cliff edge). Hazards: rotor/turbulence behind the cliff rim in stronger flow, limited/sloping LZ along a rocky State Park coastline, Highway 1 and tourist foot traffic, afternoon overdevelopment of onshore winds. Best window is typically late morning to mid-afternoon once the marine layer burns off and a moderate (not strong) sea breeze fills in. State Park access/regulation and local-knowledge guiding strongly advised; verify current legality and protocol with the Coastal Condors club before flying. CAUTION: an early web result conflating Coastal Condors' Marina State Beach numbers (270-290 deg, PG 10-18 mph) with Garrapata was discarded as those figures belong to Marina, a different (dune) site. Treat all values here as rough estimates pending confirmation from a pilot who flies Garrapata.