This Mother’s Day, forget the fluffy slippers and breakfast in bed. Give mum a wave, the day off to go surfing, or even a new board

By Tim Baker

Photos by Russell Ord

Long gone are the days (if they ever actually existed) when the best way to show your appreciation for your mum was breakfast in bed, some fluffy slippers or scented candles.

 For a growing number of mums, what they really want this Mother’s Day is unimpeded surfing time, a few sweet rides and maybe even a new shooter or other surf paraphernalia to facilitate their wave-riding kink.

 Surfing Mums is an Australia-wide network of groups dedicated to getting mums in the water and riding waves, even when their kids are tiny and even if they’ve never surfed before. Groups meet once or twice a week, mums pair up and look after each other’s kids while they take turns going for a surf. It’s a safe, supportive environment for surfing mums of all abilities that is delivering real benefits, especially in those challenging, sleep-deprived days of early parenthood. And, despite the name, it’s not just for mums. Surfing dads and grandparents have also joined the Surfing Mums community to log some water time when they are looking after little ones.

 Surfing Mums is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation with close to 40 groups around Australia. It was founded by two mums in Byron Bay in 2008 who would meet regularly and take turns surfing and look after each other’s kids. They soon decided this was a model that could benefit new mums right around the coast.

 Anthea Dare is now an experienced Gold Coast surfer who has designed her career and plans her holidays around her surfing. But she came to Surfing Mums as a complete beginner when her kids were little, nine years ago.

 “I grew up by the beach in South Australia, my dad surfed but I didn’t. It was the Puberty Blues era of chicks don’t surf,” Anthea says. When she moved to Sydney and found herself living close to the beach with two young kids, the local Surfing Mums group was her saviour.  

 “I wished I’d joined Surfing Mums earlier, to spare me the boredom of mother’s groups, sitting around talking about poos, trying to all squeeze into some café,” she says. “It helps stop post-natal depression. You can breastfeed your baby then you’ve got 40 minutes in the water. Sometimes you wouldn’t even catch a wave, but just to get that time away from your child is such a benefit for mothers of young children. I remember going to Manly, and you’ve got to find a park, get across the road with two kids in tow crying, and sometimes I didn’t even get in the surf, but it was still better than being stuck at home.”

 When she moved to the Gold Coast, Anthea joined the Currumbin Surfing Mums group and eventually ran it for a time. “Surfing Mums encourages mums to take up surfing. I’ve wanted to surf all my life. It was a safe space for me,” she says. “We’re all like-minded people. As a mum going surfing, you’ve got a different approach to it. You’re always looking back to the beach in case they’re waving you in because your baby won’t stop crying.”

 Anthea says she’s made life-long friendships and gone on overseas surf trips through Surfing Mums. One trip to Indonesia was dubbed Mums Gone Wild. “We were in Lombok drinking beer in the back of a ute. I’ve made surfing buddies for life,” says Anthea.

The Surfing Mum’s movement has crossed the continent and taken route in the south-west, where a thriving group of mums and bubs enjoy the glorious beaches and surf of the Dunsborough region. Rio Clark moved to Dunsborough from Perth eight years ago and already bodyboarded but when her son was born Surfing Mums got her back in the ocean on a surfboard.

 “It’s a dream come true. That sounds cliche but when you’re in it, it’s real – a surf community based on supporting each other not competition, raising kids who are welcome and played with, role modelling self-care and stoke in nature. There so much more. Friends who want to look after your kids while you surf... magic.”

 Their regular gatherings have helped form lifelong friendships and provided much needed respite and camaraderie amid the hazy, testing days of new parenthood. “Every meet up magic happens, everyone says it. It’s true. It’s a hustle to surf and bring your kids. I respect every Surfing Mum. I know where my wrinkle lines come from,” Rio says, laughing. “I’m thankful every day for meeting my Surfing Mums bestie, seeing her stoked after a surf and knowing the ripple effect after a surf is all time.” 

  Clare Hammond is the current President of Surfing Mums nationally, but she came to her local group as a complete novice. “I’m from England. I used to go on holidays to Cornwall every year and I always wanted to surf but I never had anybody to do it with. I didn’t feel confident enough.”

 Clare came to Australia as a backpacker, and worked as a chef, but it wasn’t until she had kids of her own at the age of 36 that she discovered Surfing Mums and found the supportive community to realise her surfing dreams. “It’s like a safety net. You’ve got people you go out in the water with, their watching out for you, they give you pointers,” she says. And that support extends far beyond the surf. “It’s this massive community … They are there for you, even if your kids get sick, or pick them up from school for you. It’s just an amazing community.”

 Surfing Mums made such a difference to Clare’s life, she took on the national presidency two years ago to give back to the organisation. “I hear the phrase life-changing a lot when people talk about Surfing Mums,” she says. “It’s our ‘me’ time. Everyone feels comfortable knowing their kids are equally happy, playing with other kids outdoors. It’s like guilt-free time and you’re getting a natural high. It’s really cool.”

 So, what’s her wish this Mother’s Day? “Normally we go out for a dawn surf and hopefully get to spend as long as we want. I’ll go for a surf first thanks and have breakfast when we get back.”

 And she likes the fact that her kids get to see her doing something for herself. “It makes you a good role model. You’re doing something that you love, and your kids see that you’re making time for it. I think that sets a good example.”

To find out more, to see if there’s a Surfing Mum’s group in your area or to learn how to start one, visit the Surfing Mums website.

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