I'd be surprised if it's a highfield lever up there as they take up more liniar feet than you want to lose on the foredeck and the lever does not often give the slack you need to get the stay back by the mast. It's more likely that you have a sort of pelican hook to quick release tension on the stay and either that or a seperate pin then completely releases the bottom of the stay.
On my Marco Polo Granuaile when I had the forestaysail off all together or furled around its internal camber spar, I'd just pull the stay back along the port rail till it lay abaft the foreward lowers, secure the sail to the rail. I'd let the stay take a nice gentle bend forward along the gunnel and secure the end.
My previous schooner Goblin was a traditional Alden 43 with a clubbed staysail that wasn't going anywhere. Especially with the big jib it was hard to tack but since the jib was on a furler I'd just furl it most of the way to tack. Like a lot of schooners, tacking Goblin was a stately and leisured process so I had plenty of time for that.
I don't like forestaysails without clubs, but you can arrange a club even with a sail on a merriman style furler and no stay so clubbed or clubless this is an option. Running with the staysail stay off depends on the stability of your mast without the tension of the staysail stay. If it's a not too tall single spreader rig and the only thing the aft intermediates do is oppose the staysail stay, chances are you're good. If you have a double spreader rig, I'd be a great deal more careful about the engineering. Either way, can't say from the non-description here. Get a pro to look her over.
G'luck
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