There are a few sites where you can get links to the web cams with the Coastalwatch site having a good list of cams but there are others as well. A google search will bring up some good results.
I tend to use them on a rather casual basis. My reasoning is that, if I am sailing from Broken Bay to Swansea and look at the Swansea cam before I leave and it shows a good bar, by the time I have covered the 35 nm up the coast the bar could be completely different by the time i get there. I know I can recheck it along the way but generally speaking once I leave I am committed. (old racing thing I think).
I use it like I use GPS and a lot of other technology we now have for boating. It's great to have and use but nothing can replace old fashioned know how, experience and gut feeling.
I think we will find a lot more cams being set up along the coast as the divers and fisher/recreational people use them a lot more than us sailing folk do.
