One of the finest sailors from the US Midwest has joined forces with local Argo Group Gold Cup hopeful Lance Fraser.Michael Rehe, who was a member of Taylor Canfield’s victorious Gold Cup team last year, will bring his wealth of expertise to Fraser’s team that also includes Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club (RHADC) stablemate Nico Stefani and Adam Barboza.Helmsman Fraser said Rehe’s wealth of experience will be a huge asset to the team.“Having won more AWMRT (Apalri World Match Racing Tour) events with Taylor than I have ever sailed, Mike brings invaluable talent and experience to the team and will be a great addition for this event,” he added. “He has also sailed a few Gold Cups and won last year so he knows the boats and will be able to jump right in to getting our team chemistry down when we train the weekend before the event. It will be great to have someone with so much AWMRT experience with Adam, Nico and I.”Rehe grew up sailing on Lake St Clair in Michigan out of Crescent Sail Yacht Club and Bayview Yacht Club where he acquired a passion for racing sailboats and eventually began match racing in 2006.He currently serves as trimmer on Canfield’s US One Sailing team.The opportunity for Rehe to join Fraser’s team arose after reigning Gold Cup champ Canfield replaced the former with his other trimmer, Dan Norris, for his title defence.“It turned out that he (Rehe) was available for the Gold Cup and we are lucky to have him on the boat with us,” added Fraser. “Mike is a great sailor with a huge amount of match racing and keelboat sailing experience.”Fraser said Barboza and Stefani also have much to offer the team.“Adam obviously brings a wealth of Gold Cup, IOD (International One Design) and Bermuda experience from sailing with Blythe Walker,” he added. “Nico and I sail together on the Bermuda Fitted Dinghy Elizabeth II and on some other keelboats on various occasions. He is the Head Coach of RHADC so I’ve gotten to know him quite well over the last few years sailing and working for RHADC.”Barboza will be responsible for keeping the main sheet trimmed, Rehe will handle the jib while Stefani will fulfil duties up front on the bow.Fraser admitted that choosing an entirely different crew from last year’s Gold Cup was no easy feat.“Crew selection was quite hard this year — I was looking at a completely new crew again,” he said. “However, it has worked out very well this year and I’m excited about the team we have put together to sail under Digicel Business Match Racing.”Fraser sailed the previous Gold Cup with 2012 Olympian Jesse Kirkland and siblings Jason and Jordan Saints who are unavailable this year through school commitments.