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Stephan, I completely agree with your boat metaphor.  I regularly find myself in that situation: the class either moves much faster or much slower than I expect them too, causing me to constantly redo my plans. 

However, I still find value in lesson planning.  Gathering my thoughts, writing down the key questions, and accounting for the intricate details of activities, help me to reflect and think carefully about my practice.  I don't do formal lesson plans often, but I do find them to be a concrete way to be explicit about my intentions.