RS400 Spinnaker rigging

Hmm,,  I would have thought that when you're racing, unless the crew has sonething better to do (like attach the sym spinny pole to the mast, as Rick said) then the crew should be pulling up the kite while the helm worries about the race.

Don't think I've ever seen a helm hoisting at an open/champs (in a 400)

Often (esp in a blow) the helm will take the windward sheet to stop any flapping.

Nope, two separate bits of string. One to launch the bowsprit, one to hoist the kite.

The crew lanuches the pole and hoists while the helm gets his head out of the boat sorts out his wing-wang (!)     (the wing wangs are the control lines for the canting bowsprit)

Cheers for the advice guys.

yep, can see that working well, especially as you can get the pole launched safely before the bear away, unless it's really howling or you're on another boats transom.

But generally on approach helm is easing kicker / playing with rig tension / trying not to hit anyone (maybe even looking upwind at the breeze if you're lucky)... so I would tend to leave this responsibility with the crew unless they are particularly feeble!