Clapotis update

I've started the decrease section! This one is fun: you get to drop TWO stitches (one at each end of the row) for every twelve-row repeat. But I have a question: Why, when I am knitting something in stockinette and I /accidentally/ drop a stitch, does it immediately run 12 rows down, but when I drop a Clapotis stitch /intentionally/ I have to fight with it to get it to go three or four rows? (I exagerate a little here -- it's not all that hard to get the stitch to drop, but it does seem to be more effort than it should be, given how much effort I have to put into keeping an unintentional drop from dropping further).

Today was warm and sunny here, so I took some outdoor pictures of the Clapotis, which I will try to post tonight.