CLOSE PROX BETWEEN MLT AND PARACHUTE ACTIVITY. JUMPERS WERE OUTSIDE OF THEIR JUMP ZONE AND IN CLOSE PROX TO CLOUDS.

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I WAS PIC OF COAST GUARD ACFT AND HAD DEPARTED MC CLELLAN AFB ON AN IFR FLT PLAN TO NAVY CROWS LNDG FIELD. AFTER TKOF MY COPLT; WHO WAS OCCUPYING THE LEFT SEAT; COMPLIED WITH DEP INSTRUCTIONS AND CLBED TO 9000' MSL ON RWY HDG. SACRAMENTO APCH CTL THEN CLRED US DIRECT TO MANTECA VORTAC; VERSUS GETTING RADAR VECTORS TO SACRAMENTO VORTAC AND THEN PROCEEDING VIA V585 TO MANTECA. SHORTLY THEREAFTER WE WERE TRANSFERRED TO SCK APCH CTL. AFTER OUR INITIAL CALL TO SCK THEY GAVE US A TFC CALL OF: 'TFC 12-1 O'CLOCK; 1 1/2 MI ALT UNKNOWN.' OUR ACFT WAS IN IMC CONDITIONS AT THE TIME AND WE ADVISED APCH OF THIS. APPROX 5 SECS LATER WE CAME OUT OF THE CLOUDS AND WERE IN VMC CONDITIONS AND OBSERVED APPROX 10-12 PARACHUTISTS WITH CHUTES DEPLOYED PASSING FROM 1-2 O'CLOCK WITHIN 500' OF THE ACFT SLIGHTLY LOW. WE ADVISED SCK APCH OF THIS AND LATER PHONED SACRAMENTO APCH WHEN WE RETURNED TO MC CLELLAN. SACRAMENTO APCH CTL ADVISED US THAT THE JUMPERS WERE OUTSIDE THEIR DESIGNATED JUMP ZONE WHEN THE NEAR MISS OCCURRED.