This is actually a requirement of spotting for a driver at a boat race. The spotter's job is to be looking no less than three buoys ahead of the boat he's spotting for to make sure there is nothing in front of the boat that will be detrimental to that boat. This includes wildlife(aka ducks, geese, turtles, beaver, dogs, etc), dead boats, parts of boats that came off, free floating buoys that have been hit by boats during the heat, sticks, etc. If the spotter is just watching the boat he's spotting for, by the time he sees something on the water, it's too late for the driver to avoid hitting that object. I've not finished several heats due having to avoid something that I didn't know was ahead of my boat due to a spotter not doing his job