Leadership & Safety

West Michigan Kayaking Club

🌲 Wild Rivers. Rugged Trails. Real Adventure. 🛶

West Michigan Kayaking Club is built around adventure, exploration, endurance paddling, hiking, camping, and experiencing Michigan’s rivers and wilderness.

Our trips are designed to be challenging and rewarding—but safety comes first.

We believe good leadership isn’t about telling people what to do. It’s about preparation, communication, sound judgment, teamwork, and making sure participants understand the conditions and responsibilities involved in every adventure.

 

👥 Club Founders

West Michigan Kayaking Club was founded in 2020 by Brad De Young and Tim Postma.

The club was created to bring together people who wanted more than short recreational float trips.

Our goal is to build a community around:

🛶 Adventure paddling
🌊 River exploration
🥾 Hiking
🏕️ Wilderness camping
💪 Endurance challenges
🌲 Michigan’s wild places

The club has grown into a community of paddlers and outdoor adventurers who share a passion for exploring Michigan by land and water.

 

🧭 Trip Leaders

West Michigan Kayaking Club trips may involve designated lead, middle, and sweep positions depending on the size and difficulty of the group.

🚣 Lead

The lead paddler helps establish the group’s direction and pace while watching for changing river conditions, obstacles, hazards, and upcoming decision points.

🛶 Middle

Participants remain aware of the group and maintain reasonable spacing. Middle paddlers should communicate problems, hazards, or concerns to the people around them.

🚣 Sweep

The sweep is responsible for remaining at or near the back of the group and helping ensure that participants aren’t unintentionally separated from the group.

On difficult portages or obstacles, leaders may assist participants as conditions require.

Group leadership is a team effort.

 

🎓 Instructor Credentials & Experience

West Michigan Kayaking Club leadership brings extensive paddlesports and outdoor experience to club activities.

Club leadership has 25+ years of paddlesports experience, and leadership includes American Canoe Association (ACA) membership and ongoing kayaking instructor training.

Credentials and experience are important, but they do not eliminate the inherent risks associated with kayaking, hiking, camping, moving water, weather, or wilderness travel.

Participants should always make decisions based on their own abilities and experience.

 

🩹 First-Aid & Rescue Experience

Outdoor recreation involves inherent risks, particularly when traveling on remote waterways or trails.

Participants should not assume that a trip leader is a professional guide, lifeguard, medical provider, or emergency responder.

Participants are expected to carry appropriate personal safety equipment and be prepared to handle reasonable emergencies until professional assistance can be reached.

Depending on the trip, recommended equipment may include:

🩹 Personal first-aid supplies
📱 Communication device
🧭 Navigation equipment
🔦 Emergency lighting
💧 Adequate water
🧥 Weather-appropriate clothing
🦺 Properly fitted PFD
🚨 Emergency supplies

Know before you go. Prepare before you launch.

 

🦺 Group Safety Procedures

Safety procedures may vary depending on the river, weather, distance, water conditions, group size, and difficulty of the adventure.

For applicable kayaking trips:

🦺 PFDs

A properly fitted PFD must be worn while on the water.

👥 Group Awareness

Participants should maintain awareness of the paddlers around them and communicate hazards or problems immediately.

🚣 Lead & Sweep

When appropriate, designated lead and sweep positions will be used to help maintain group cohesion.

🌲 Portages & Obstacles

Participants should follow leader instructions around portages, downed trees, rapids, crossings, and other hazards.

🌙 Darkness

Groups should plan appropriately around daylight and be off the water at least one hour before dark, unless a specific trip plan states otherwise.

🌦️ Changing Conditions

Weather, water levels, river conditions, and trail conditions can change quickly.

Trip plans may be modified, shortened, delayed, relocated, or canceled when conditions warrant.

No itinerary is more important than safety.

 

⚠️ Participant Responsibilities

West Michigan Kayaking Club events are 100% self-supported unless specifically stated otherwise.

Every participant is responsible for:

• Knowing their own physical abilities and limitations
• Bringing appropriate equipment
• Wearing a properly fitted PFD while kayaking
• Bringing adequate food and water
• Dressing appropriately for weather conditions
• Carrying necessary medications and personal supplies
• Understanding the planned distance and difficulty
• Following applicable laws and regulations
• Paying attention to safety briefings
• Communicating hazards or medical concerns
• Making responsible decisions about their own participation

You are responsible for your own safety.

If a trip is beyond your ability or comfort level, you should not participate.

 

🚨 Our Emergency Philosophy

Our philosophy is simple:

Prevent the emergency whenever possible.

Good preparation is the first line of defense.

We encourage participants to:

Plan → Prepare → Communicate → Monitor → Adapt

If conditions become unsafe, the group may change the route, stop paddling, exit the river, shorten the trip, or cancel the activity.

No distance, destination, schedule, or event is worth putting someone unnecessarily at risk.

In the event of an emergency, participants should immediately alert the group leadership and contact 911 or the appropriate emergency service when necessary.

Remote outdoor environments can delay professional assistance, which is why personal preparation and responsible decision-making are critical.

 

🚫 Zero-Tolerance Drug & Alcohol Policy

Drugs and alcohol are not permitted while participating in West Michigan Kayaking Club events.

This is a zero-tolerance policy.

Anyone who violates this policy may be immediately removed from the event and may be prohibited from participating in future West Michigan Kayaking Club activities.

Safety and responsible behavior are non-negotiable.

 

🌲 Adventure With Responsibility

West Michigan Kayaking Club believes the best adventures combine challenge with preparation.

We want our members to paddle farther, hike deeper, explore more of Michigan, and experience places that many people never see.

But adventure means respecting the environment, understanding your abilities, preparing for the unexpected, and looking out for one another.

Come prepared. Know your limits. Respect the river. Watch out for your fellow adventurers.

That’s how we keep adventure going.

 

🛶 West Michigan Kayaking Club

Wild Rivers. Rugged Trails. Real Adventure.

Interested in joining an upcoming adventure?

🌐 West Michigan Kayaking Club Website⁠

📘 West Michigan Kayaking Club Facebook Group⁠

West Michigan Kayaking Club
Adventure paddling. Wilderness exploration. Endurance. Community.

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