Got in touch with Charles Van Der Horst through Coach Bescher. He is doing a Channel relay and training with Loretta Cox. He has swum with JP at TAC and is getting workouts from him via Training Peaks.
His recommendation for booking a boat was to go through a coach.
[2019 commentary – incredibly sadly, Charles perished in an open water swim this summer. I met him briefly at the Seven Lakes swim, just before he left to do the Hudson River Swims. He was by all accounts an absolutely amazing guy, and I miss the friendship we might have had.]