On the current Tornado rig, we've got a pole that according to your description, is a pelican striker...but I've heard it called simply a "strut" between the bridles & pole. Unlike the picture shown above, there are a pair of stays attached to the pole where the strut attaches...leading out (athwartships) & down to the forestay bridle tangs on the inner gunwales. From looking at the whole arrangement, I've wondered what the strut actually does for you, since any upward flex at the mid pole point should be resisted by the mid pole stays. Granted these are at a fairly shallow angle compared to the forstay bridle stays, but I can't see them allowing enough flex to load the strut to any level. It all seems kinda redundant...perhaps we can get rid of either the midpole stays or the strut?

Here's a picture of the Marstrom setup: