Interview by Ginny Farrell
Peta Chivers
A late start, a love of the River Dart and an unshakeable competitive spirit have made Peta Chivers one of Britain’s most inspiring pilot gig rowers. At 73 and a grandmother of eight, Peta is proving that some of life’s greatest adventures begin after 50.
T
he Dart is still half asleep. Mist hangs low over the wa- ter, the hills are catching the
first light and the only sound is the rhythmic splash of six oars finding the river together. Tere is no shout- ing. No drama. Just the quiet certain- ty of a crew moving as one. In the stroke seat sits Peta. Tere is
little to distinguish her from the rest of the crew. She laughs easily, helps shoulder the boat and slips into her seat with the calm confidence that comes from years of experience. It is only when someone mentions she is 73 that people tend to do a double take. Because this isn’t a leisurely pad-
dle. It’s a high-performance sport. Tis summer Peta stroked Dart-
mouth Gig Club’s Masters crew to victory at the inaugural European Pilot Gig Championships. Last year they finished fiſth at the World Pilot Gig Championships in the Isles of Scilly. In a sport long dominated by Cornwall’s powerhouse clubs, Dartmouth’s Masters women have become genuine contenders, with
Peta at the heart of their success. Her achievements didn’t end there.
At this year’s Appledore SuperVets Championships, where crews compete in the over-50 category, Peta raced with Dart’s SuperVets A crew to an outstanding second-
“I love rowing with other people. You’re all pulling
together. That’s what makes it special.”
place finish. A septuagenarian, she was competing against rowers who were, in some cases, more than two decades younger, making the result yet another testament to her exceptional fitness, determination and enduring competitive spirit. She shrugs off the attention. “I’m just older,” she says with a
smile. “People seem to think that’s unusual, but I don’t think I’m anything special.” It is a typically understated
response from someone who has become one of the club’s most respected figures. Since 2009 she has served almost continuously on the committee as secretary, vice-chair, chair and women’s captain. Today she is junior captain, introducing the next generation to a sport that has given her so much. If someone had told the teenage
Peta she would one day become a European champion athlete, she wouldn’t have believed them. “I was never sporty at school,” she
laughs. “I was always the one they picked last.” Prior to rowing came classrooms,
family businesses and five children. Aſter studying Russian and French at Lancaster University, Peta taught modern languages before returning to Bristol, where she met her hus- band Charles. Together they created a busy family life while running the family business – making the perma- nent move to Dartmouth in 1989. “Tis was always our sanctuary,”
she says. Like many families, they first fell
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