Competing against the world’s elite match racing sailors in the $100,000 Argo Group Gold Cup can be an initimidating experience for a newcomer.But 22-year-old Gold Cup rookie skipper Joshua Greenslade is determined not to let the big occasion get the better of him this week.And the national match racing champion has every right to feel comfortable in his own skin given he’s an underdog and as such has nothing to lose and everything to gain.“I’m taking it all in stride because this a big learning curve for me,” Greenslade told The Royal Gazette.He’s facing a baptism of fire having been placed in Group Two that includes reigning Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) Ian Williams and four-time Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie.“It’s obviously a tough group and there are really no pushovers at this event,” Greenslade said. “You just have to go out there and make as little mistakes as possible, sail clean and hopefully come away with more victories than losses.”As an unknown quantity, Greenslade intends to use the element of surprise to his advantage.“They (rivals) are expected to win coming up against me,” he said. “But something may happen and I get them on the back foot and things could go the other way.“Who knows what’s going to happen, I could be the surprise package.”With a seasoned crew comprised of Blythe Walker and Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) Sailing Academy duo Tom Herbert-Evans and Sean Evans behind him, Greenslade won’t have to go far for advice when the going gets tough.“We have put a lot of time in the boat together and the team has really gelled,” added Greenslade, who warmed up for the Gold Cup sailing against Group Two rival and two-time King Edward VII Gold Cup winner Ainslie.The young skipper reckons he’s getting the handle on the International One Design (IOD) classic racing sloop.“It takes a long time to get the feel of it,” he acknowleged. “But I’ve put in long hours and that’s pretty much the only thing I’ve been driving.“I feel pretty comfortable steering the boat which is very important — especially with Hamilton Harbour and the chaos it can cause.”Also representing local sailing at this year’s Gold Cup is Lance Fraser who, at age 20, is the youngest skipper in the fleet.This year marks the fitted dinghy sailor’s fourth appearance at this regatta where his goal remains to advance beyond the initial group stage.“At any regatta the goal is got to be trying to make it to the next stage and that’s what we will be trying to do,” Fraser said.“We just have to take every race at a time and try and win every one.“And hopefully we can get a few good days of sailing early in the week and make it happen.”Fraser and his Team Digicel Business team-mates have been placed in Group One that boasts past Gold Cup champions Taylor Canfield (US Virgin Islands) and Johnie Berntsson (Sweden) as well as past Tour winner Adam Minoprio (New Zealand).Like Greenslade, Fraser intends to take matters all in stride.“I don’t put too much thought into the groups and who we have to sail because everybody is good enough to win or lose any give race,” he said. “It’s something that’s out of our control and is what it is and we look forward to sailing on Tuesday.”Adam Barboza, Nico Stefani and Michael Rehe make up the remainder of Fraser’s team.Rehe won the Gold Cup last year as a member of Canfield’s team.