Chris Oxenbould to chair Safety Committee

Yachting Australia has announced that Chris Oxenbould AO has accepted an appointment as chair of the National Safety Committee.

Chris Oxenbould retired as Deputy Chief of the Royal Australian Navy in 1999 after 37 years in the service, the last six as a Rear Admiral. His career included command of the Royal Australian Navy Fleet and the Australian Task Group during the first Gulf War. He specialised as a navigator and warfare officer and spent a good deal of his career at sea including commands of the destroyer HMAS Perth and the frigate HMAS Canberra.

Since his retirement from the Navy Chris has held CEO positions with New South Wales Maritime, Newcastle Port Corporation and Sydney Ferries. He continues to work part time as a strategic adviser with Transfield Services. Chris is an experienced ocean racing yachtsman with more than 40 years experience sailing off the southeast coast of Australia, and he has competed in 10 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races. He was the chairman of the 2000 and 2001 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Committees. 
 
More recently, Chris chaired the internal Cruising Yacht Club of Australia 2009 Flinders Islet Inquiry. He has been a member of the National Safety Committee since 2010 and therefore has a good working understanding of his new role.
 
"I am very pleased to accept this opportunity and look forward to working with the committee and the broader yachting community to achieve the very important task before the National Safety Committee," he said.
 
For the past two years Yachting Australia President David Gotze has acted as chairman of the National Safety Committee and will continue to serve on the committee as an ex-officio member.
 
For more information visit www.yachting.org.au.