Meet the parents who share child care, so everyone can enjoy time out in the sea.
Every Wednesday night, a Thirroul mother makes sure her car is packed with toys, towels, baby wipes, sunshade and a surfboard in an attempt to help the next morning run smoothly.
It can take a lot to get a tantrum-prone toddler out the door on time, but Desiree Savage doesn’t like to let other people down – plus she’s itching to get a wave.
Desiree is the co-ordinator of the Coal Coast Surfing Mums and can often be seen at a northern Illawarra beach on Thursdays and Fridays surrounded by children.
“I took over as coordinator in January of this year,” she said.
“The organisation has had a presence in Wollongong for several years now, but I’m constantly surprised by how many people don’t know we exist.”
Getting wet is obviously a big part of what they do, Desiree said, but it’s also about building friendships and supporting each other as parents.
The volunteer-run not-for-profit organisation was founded in 2008 in Byron Bay, by two mums who discovered regularly meeting to take turns surfing and watching each other’s kids helped revive the soul.
The organisation now has close to 40 groups around Australia, where members buddy up to swap time in the water while their children enjoy supervised play.
Desiree said joining Surfing Mums helped her to feel herself again and meet some “kick-ass people with beautiful kids that my daughter loves too”.
After learning to surf in Western Australia, she’s been a “casual” surfer for about 15 years, as for a long time martial arts was her main focus.
“After I had my daughter I struggled with post-natal depression as well as recovering from a birth injury,” she said.
“I couldn’t go back to my love of kick-boxing so returned to the ocean where I’ve always felt at peace. The more I surfed, the more I felt like me again.”
She said any mum, dad or carer is welcome to join whether they’re a surfer, bodyboarder or just like to swim. Even mums-to-be can join and use the “me time” to have a walk by themselves or grab a chai.
Current members range in occupations and interests but they all share a love for the sea.
“Ocean people are like-minded people so everyone I’ve met through the organisation is really cool,” Desiree said.
“Earlier this year, I was lucky to tag along with the Newcastle Surfing Mums (sans kids) to Mollymook on a retreat with former world champion Pam Burridge. That was an epic getaway with some awesome women and it lifted my surfing game.”
She said some people join a gym or play soccer, but she chose waves.
“I’m not going to lie, sometimes there is a bit of chaos if all the kids decide they want to be cranky,” Desiree said.
“But once you’ve had time in the water you feel relaxed again, so you don’t mind.”
It’s $52 to become a Surfing Mums member, with $5 donated to the Waves of Wellness mental health charity. Memberships also include a member gift, public liability insurance for the group, help fund a sun shade and flag, as well as give access to getaways and giveaways. For more information, email CoalCoastSurfingMums@gmail.com or visit www.surfingmums.com
Q: What does being part of the Surfing Mums group mean to you?
“The transformation into motherhood can be so isolating. We start to put a new human ahead of ourselves in just about every area. I really struggled to get back out into the world and out into nature and doing things that nurtured my body so that I could be a better human for my little person.
“Surfing Mums really gives us that opportunity to connect with nature, to bury our feet in the sand, to let that cold water just wash over our body and soothe so many parts of ourselves whilst having a community of like-minded women, of other people who are going through this early parenting journey.
“And that’s really hard to find.”
“For me it’s about connection, and about recognising the kind of duality of caring for a little one and also being able to enjoy the outdoors as an individual, as a woman, and as a surfer.
“It’s about connecting with other mums who love to be outdoors and love the water and love surfing.
“There’s the social connection … but also the ability to be able to get out and have half an hour, 45 minutes in the water to myself and that I come back as a much calmer, more present parent.
“I did Surfing Mums in Maroubra as well … all up in the Surfing Mums overall, it’s been six and a half years.”
“My little one’s one of the younger ones, so I haven’t actually been out surfing yet. It’s been really good to connect, just to see how other mums are managing to do that. It is nice to have something to think about other than being a parent.
“I have done a little bit of surfing but I’m more into kite-surfing. I don’t know if that will work with the mums group, because usually when you want to go surfing is when it’s not windy and kite-surfing’s when it is windy. But there’s another mum in the group who has kite-surfed in the past and it’d be great to connect with her and try that again.”
“Being part of surfing mums means that there is always space in the week to pause and be by the coast with a great group of people. The beauty of the group is that it is very relaxed and supportive.
“You don’t have to be a surfer either, often people will just go for a walk on the beach or a have a dip in the ocean.”
“For me, it’s about the friendships that I’ve made by being part of a couple of different groups – first in the Northern Beaches and now in Wollongong.
“It’s a great group of like-minded women. I’ve had the opportunity to be able to go surfing, especially when my children were little, when the challenges are quite hard.
“It’s for mental and physical wellbeing.”