I think that too many people define rig tension as what they feel on the beach. They strum their forestay and say "Tight as a guitar string...Great!". This is useless and without merit when it comes to on-the-water tension.

We ALL have seen how the lee shroud flops when reaching. Less obvious but just as real is forestay sag when off the wind. No matter how tight it seems on the beach, under loads of sailing you only run on the two windward stays . Platform flex, mast stiffness, and mainsheet tension all add into the mix. I've heard repeated stories of people successfully sailing great distances with a lee shroud completely broken !

If you acknowledge that massive rig flexing loosens a lee stay, can anyone explain to me how "setting" rig tension relates to actual sailing conditions in any way?