Confusion Regarding the Foretop

A novel I am reading keeps referencing the main character as getting into the foretop, not by way of the lubber’s hole, but by flipping over the side by way of the fore backstay. I cannot find anything referencing why she would have flipped upside down, which the book insists is the “sailor’s way”. Can you help me clear this up?

Hi, this means that the sailor is an experienced sailor and does not climb through the lubber hole like a beginner but went aloft the manly man’s way via the futtock shrouds (meaning they climbed over the outside of the platform) Here is a picture of what it looks like, the beginner climbs safely through the platform and the rider goes along from the outside. 

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