It was a scene reminiscent of "Endless Summer": A beat-up Mitsubishi, with state-of-the-art surfboards strapped to its roof, cruising down the highway along the California coast. But the driver, sporting dark wraparound sunglasses and flip-flops, is not a bronzed, bare-chested surfer dude but rather a fun-loving mom in her 30s.

When Nancy Steele's eyes aren't fixed on the road ahead, they are scanning the shoreline to her right. She's not looking for the perfect waves, just swells big enough to test a surfing novice, another mom, visiting from New England.

Originally from Virginia, Nancy Steele is a runner, a former gymnast, and a stay-at-home mother with a 4-year-old son. When she moved to Santa Barbara eight years ago and married a fellow East Coaster, the concept of riding waves was as foreign to her as a California smoothie. But after her husband, Peck, gave her a surfboard for her 30th birthday – confident that her grace, athleticism, and can-do spirit would be a perfect fit – she knew she had to give it a try.

Now, at least twice a week, Ms. Steele drops off her son, Johno, at preschool, meets up with other surfing moms, and heads south from Santa Barbara toward Ventura. A few of their favorite surf spots include Eucalyptus Lane, C Street, and Rincon Beach, made legendary by the Beach Boys.

These 30- and 40-something moms can't imagine a week without surfing. It's a precious time, they say, to let go of adult responsibilities, wonder at the beauty of the natural world, test their physical limits, connect with kindred spirits, and feel like kids again. Overall, it's a great break from what they jokingly call the life of a "robo mom."

Even five years ago, Steele and her friends would have stood out like dolphins swimming among sharks. But in the past few years, the sight of women on waves, especially in waters off the California coast, has become as common as scuba divers off Cozumel.

"Surfing for women has exploded," says Paul West, president of the United States Surfing Federation.

In 1996, only 10 percent of the surfing population was female, according to Board-Trac, a social research firm in southern California. By 2001, that number had doubled. Today, of the 2.4 million surfers in the US, 484,000 are female. And by all accounts, many of these are women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s trying the sport for the first time.

Surfing classes are frequently geared to this set, including those at Surf Diva in La Jolla, Calif., the first surfing school for women. Surfing competitions are drawing women over 30 in record numbers. And as of last month, this age group even got its own magazine: Surf Life for Women.

The trend has also spurred changes in clothing and gear. Outfitters such as Quicksilver, Billabong, and Rusty have introduced women's clothing lines; wet-suit manufacturers have begun tailoring suits to women; and surfboard makers are adding soft foam cushion to the board's deck.

There's even a film about female surfers coming out next month. "Blue Crush" was filmed in Hawaii and features teenage girls, who are following close behind their older counterparts in the sport's shifting tide.

Gone are the days when women of any age sat on the beach in a bikini and gazed at their guys, says Anne Beasley, editor of Surf Life for Women.

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