Hey i'm a beginner surfer, i've only had one lesson and have been "white wash" surfing three times. The closest beaches i try to surf at are Trigg and Scarborough, but i do not know what good weather, wind direction, knots, swell and all that are for a beginner!! Please some one advise me! Cheers

Hi - here are the local cams that I use:

www.transport.wa.gov.au/imarine/marine-information.asp

www.swellnet.com.au/surfcams/scarborough

www.coastalwatch.com/camera/cameras_large.aspx?cam=7050&state=WA

..and of course, the WA Metro graphs off Seabreeze.com.au for forecasts...

Use them all in combination with your trips to the coast, you'll soon start to form a mental correlation with what the graphs are predicting, what the cams are showing and the actual conditions.

Basically, your after Easterly conditions - ideally 5-8 knots, with a local swell of 0.5m at Cottesloe (or about 2m offshore). Learn about tides too... depending upon the change of the tide it can make a huge difference, a large tide at 'high tide' can make the waves full or fat and not break (they just roll through and are hard to catch); whereas a 'low tide' can mean that they break too fast, ie dump or close-out as we surfers say...

And importantly know these couple of rules: Never throw or abandon your board without KNOWING that there is no one behind you or anywhere close. No one wants 6-8ft of fibreglass in the head... And, if someone further out, or closer to the breaking part of the wave (the peak) gets to their feet, then they have right of way - so it's their wave, and if you cut in front of them it's called 'dropping in' and it is very much frowned upon.

Good Luck... and enjoy!