eFoil regulations & spots in Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia has no rule that mentions eFoils. Powered personal craft are regulated by the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) through its Division of Maritime Affairs, which licenses jet-ski operators, inspects craft and has been developing a national personal-watercraft (PWC) policy since 2022. An eFoil is a small motorised craft ridden standing up, so in practice it falls under SLASPA's jet-ski/PWC guidelines and the general authority of the Maritime Division and Marine Police; the Soufrière Marine Management Association (SMMA) adds zoning on the west coast.

SLASPA's Guidelines for Jet Ski Operations require every operator to hold a Personal Watercraft operator's licence from the Authority (one-year licences are issued after SLASPA's certification course) and to carry the Registration and Safety Inspection Certificate issued by the Maritime Division, renewed annually. Each person on a craft must be provided with an approved life jacket. The guidelines are written for commercial jet-ski businesses, so whether a private eFoil rider needs the same licence and inspection is not settled; ask the Division of Maritime Affairs (maritime@slaspa.com, +1 758 457 6152) before riding. No minimum age is published in the sources reviewed.

The guidelines set the operating envelope: ride only in areas designated by SLASPA; keep at least 200 ft offshore and come in only through a designated staging area; hold 5 knots or less (no wake) within 150 ft of any vessel, shore, dock, piling or structure; stay 100 ft from a divers-down flag; and never ride between sunset and sunrise or in weather the Maritime Division deems hazardous. Jet skis may not be used inside the ports of entry (Rodney Bay, Castries, Marigot Bay, Soufrière and Vieux Fort) except to transit. PWC use is concentrated off the hotel coasts at Rodney Bay, Choc Bay, Marigot Bay and Castries. Around Soufrière the SMMA divides the water into marine reserves (no-take, permit-only access), fishing-priority areas, yacht mooring areas, recreational and multiple-use areas, with anchoring banned throughout; treat the whole SMMA as off-limits for motorised boards unless the SMMA office says otherwise.

SLASPA and the Marine Police enforce the guidelines; fine amounts are not published in the sources reviewed, but SLASPA's course covers offences and licences can be withheld. Rules are national, with hotel beaches and the SMMA policing their own waters. Practical approach: contact the Division of Maritime Affairs, launch from a staging point outside the ports of entry, stay beyond 200 ft, keep a PFD on and be back before sunset.