Not that I plan for failure, but I do plan against. I've been told
that, if one is in a position to be towed for a distance in adverse
conditions, leading the tow line to the mast is much stronger than
leading it to some cleat. Unless the mast base on a deck stepped mast
were to go, say, a foot up into the interior of the mast and everything
was bolted to a compression post running to the keel, I'd think that
deck-stepped masts would be more likely to pull loose. A keel-stepped
mast is directly supported horizontally by the deck and would seem to be
better able to resist/sustain the shocks and tugs of the tow line.

john