Bill don't be afraid to be proactive if you are anticipating then the boat path will not be affected as much. If you are waiting too long to react, the boat will take the hit and you will find yourself chasing the skier. It is more important to give the skier a tight line on the back side of the buoy, this will keep the skier from getting too deep in the water at the back side of the buoy and hitting the boat hard which will certainly have an adverse effect on your path in the course. Make sure the boat is set up, good torque on the wheel, level, weight it if necessary and make the boat easy to drive. Fighting a boat and the skier is not much fun!!!