Does it make sense to look forward without inhaling? Does it gain anything? I breathe every third stroke--fourth if I have to breathe on one side. While exhaling, I roll my head up so the bottom of my goggles are still submerged. When the chop is not coming head on, it allows me to see the buoy or a landmark.
I often do my forward sighting without bringing my head out to inhale. I like to breathe to the side and not lift my head all the way out of the water to inhale while looking forward because it's less strain on my body. If the glare is bad and I know I'm going to really have to hunt for a buoy, I swim a stroke or two of breaststroke rather than head out freestyle. I also breathe every third stroke in open water. I kind of just do alligator eyes looking forward with just my eyes peaking out between breaths. I feel like there's less disruption to my stroke that way.
