Learning to read the forecast

[Mjc1981]

Hi, so I'm new to surfing. Had a few lessons, been told I was ready to go "out the back"...which I think just means to waves before they break. Standing up not a problem, turning is OK but a bit slow...anyway...I'm looking to go to newquay again this weekend, but the forecast for Saturday seems to show very small waves. Checked the webcam for fistral on a similar size wave day recently and no one was out really. Am I right in thinking these 3ft waves are kind of a bit small really? And that 3ft means 3ft above normal sea level?(Nb on the days I had lessons the waves were 5 or 6ft....and we'll above my head when standing in chest deep. I'm 6'2) thanks in advance

[BaNZ]

I've surfed fistral beach before. So the forecast is not always accurate and it varies from spot to spot. In some spots, 3 feet could mean the bigger sets are overhead. While 3 feet in other spots means the biggest is 3 feet and most of the time it's 1-2 feet.

At my local spot, 3 feet means perfect days. You really gotta learn by looking at the webcam and learning the pattern. I used to surf in Cromer UK and it sucks 90% of the time. Only when the swell is in the right direction and anything bigger than 1-2 feet with more than 8 seconds interval. Or else it's just a blow out.