NAVAL FAMILY HAS THE EDGE TO SINK F69
Naval experience runs deep in Jo Smith’s family, and just may have given her the lucky edge to win Telecom Mobile’s Push
the Button competition.
Jo, working closely with her Mum Barbara, beat more than 90,000 other registered players in the knock-out competition to
sink the F69 by correctly locating the virtual F69, 17 times in a row.
The family’s naval connections include Jo’s mother and grandfather who both served time in the Royal New Zealand Navy,
and a cousin who actually served on the F69, formerly HMNZS Wellington, in the Gulf.
Jo, however, puts her victory down to luck rather than naval experience, as she used the keys on her Telecom Mobile
handsets to play a game of naval hide and seek looking for the position of the virtual F69.
“I didn’t have a complex system for choosing the winning numbers – they were just random,” says the 22-year-old Te Atatu
resident.
This Saturday, weather dependent, Jo will push the button to send the F69 to the bottom of the ocean to become an
artificial marine reef and diving attraction off Wellington’s south coast.
Telecom’s head of mobile marketing Kevin Bowler said: “We’re really delighted to be putting Jo at the heart of the
action, particularly as we’ ve learnt she’s a water sports enthusiast – it’s an ideal prize for her.”
Jo, who has only been to Wellington once, gets to take three friends with her for the sinking. Each will receive a dive
course and a Sanyo 5600 mobile phone, and Jo will also receive a complete open water dive system worth $2500.
“I surf and kayak now, but I’ve always wanted to learn to dive – and diving the wreck that I helped sink will be a
totally amazing experience,” says Jo, who is in her final year of physical education study at the University of
Auckland.
Also included in Jo’s prize is a Sanyo 32 inch LCD TV, Microsoft Xbox game console, and $100 airtime per month for her
new Telecom 027 mobile for one year.
Telecom is supporting the Sink F69 Charitable Trust which is presently preparing the 36-year-old former frigate for
scuttling.
ENDS