Lighthouses of Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island nation located south of Martinique and north of St. Vincent in the Windward Islands of the West Indies. The mountainous island is about 40 km (25 mi) long and up to 20 km (13 mi) wide. First colonized by France in the 1660s, it was considered a valuable colonial prize and was captured repeatedly by Britain in its various wars with France over the next 150 years. Britain finally took control for good during the Napoleonic Wars and it was confirmed as a British colony in 1814. Saint Lucia became independent in 1979 and has remained a Commonwealth Realm recognizing the British monarch as head of state. The capital of the country is Castries on the northwest coast of the island and the population is about 185,000.

Saint Lucia has become a very popular tourist destination with many resorts, although it may not be quite as well known as its neighbors Martinique and Barbados.

English is the official language of Saint Lucia but as a result of its long French connection a French-based Creole language is commonly spoken and most of the place names are French.

Aids to navigation in Saint Lucia are owned and operated by the St. Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA). For many years SLASPA allowed the island's two historic lighthouses to deteriorate. In recent years the Authority formed a partnership with the Saint Lucia Archaeological and Historical Society and the Saint Lucia National Trust to maintain the Vigie lighthouse, but the Moule à Chique lighthouse has continued to be ignored.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA numbers are from Publication 110.

General Sources
Online List of Lights - Saint Lucia
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Currently the St. Lucia photos are by Arno Siering and Rainer Arndt.
SLASPA - Light Houses
A page on the two historic lighthouses posted by SLASPA.
World of Lighthouses - Saint Lucia
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Saint Lucia Lighthouses
Aerial photos posted by Marinas.com.
Lighthouses in Saint Lucia
Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia.
Leuchttürme Mittelamerikas und der Karibik auf historischen Postkarten
Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse.
GPSNauticalCharts
Navigational chart information for Saint Lucia.
Navionics Charts
Navigational chart for Saint Lucia.

Vigie Light, Castries, February 2020
Instagram photo by Timothy Williams
Lighthouses
* Cap Moule à Chique (Vieux-Fort)
1912. Inactive. 9 m (29 ft) concrete or stucco-clad cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery. Tower painted white, lantern red. A short concrete block post near the lighthouse carries the active light (focal plane 227 m (745 ft); white flash every 5 s). Denise Caron's 2012 photo is above, Geoff Schultz has another photo, Lightphotos.net has a view of the mountaintop, Marinas.com has aerial photos, Huelse has a historic postcard image, Naushad Khan has a 2018 street view, and Google has a satellite view. Crtically endangered. This lighthouse has been in poor condition for many years. There have been several efforts to patch it up with little to show for them. Richard Burt's 2016 photo and Liam McCann's December 2018 closeup showed that the tower appeared sound but the lantern was in ruins. An October 2021 photo shows a shocking situation: the tower in very poor condition and the lantern dome on the ground. Junior Etienne's August 2022 photo (seen at right) and an October 2023 photo show the same situation. However the view is just as spectacular as advertised on many tourist websites. Located above Vieux-Fort on the southernmost tip of the island. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS STL-001. Active light: Admiralty J5798; NGA 15048.
Tapion Rock
Date unknown (station established 1843). Active; focal plane 15 m (49 ft); quick-flashing white light. 3 m (10 ft) steel post mounted atop a 1-story concrete building. The post is painted red; the building is painted in a black and white checkerboard pattern. Trabas has a photo by Rainer Arndt, a view from the sea is available, and Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Inaccessible, but there are good views from ships arriving or leaving. Site and tower closed. Admiralty J5792; NGA 15004.
* Castries West Wharf Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 34 m (111 ft); continuous red light. 22 m (72 ft) square skeletal tower, painted white. The tower carries a triangular slatted daymark painted white with an orange vertical stripe. Trabas has Arno Siering's distant view and the tower is centered in Bing's satellite view. The front light is on a mast attached to a waterfront building. Located on a hillside southeast of Castries harbor. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty J5793.1; NGA 15020.
Cul de Sac Bay Range Front
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 51 m (167 ft); continuous green light. 27 m (89 ft) round cylindrical tower painted with black and yellow horizontal bands. Trabas has Arndt's photo and the shadow of the mast is seen in Google's satellite view. Cul de Sac harbor, about 10 km (6 mi) south of Castries, is the island's oil terminal. Located within the terminal. Site and tower closed. Admiralty J5795.3; NGA 15026.

Cap Moule à Chique Light, Vieux-Fort, August 2022
Google Maps photo by Junior Etienne
Cul de Sac Bay Range Rear
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 62 m (203 ft); continuous green light. 8 m (26 ft) round cylindrical tower painted with black and yellow horizontal bands and carrying a rectangular daymark colored red with a white vertical stripe. Trabas has Arndt's distant view and Bing has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a hillside east of the harbor. Site and tower closed. Admiralty J5795.31; NGA 15026.1.
* Vigie (2)
1914 (Chance Brothers). Station established 1883. Active; focal plane 97.5 m (320 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 11 m (36 ft) cylindrical tower with lantern and gallery, painted white with red trim; lantern painted red. A photo by Timothy Williams is at the top of this page, Trabas has a good photo by Arno Siering, Theresa Darius has a 2023 closeup, Gail Hampshire has a 2011 photo, Debbie Niemann has a 2015 photo, a view from the harbor is available, Carlos Ravelo has a 2019 closeup street view, and Google has a satellite view. Huelse has a postcard view of the original lighthouse shortly before the present one was built. In October 2005 Bob Taylor found the lighthouse in poor condition with no glass in the lantern. The glass is still missing in J.B. Jelloid's February 2011 photo but the tower had been repainted. The adjoining keeper's house was in use as office space for the Air and Sea Ports Authority. In 2014-15 SLASPA finally restored the lighthouse; the results are seen in Woody Wade's June 2015 photo. According to Neal Doan as of December 2018 there is still no glass in the lantern. Located on the Vigie peninsula, the north side of the harbor of Castries, near the airport. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS STL-004; Admiralty J5791; NGA 15000.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Martinique | South: St. Vincent and the Grenadines

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Posted December 8, 2005. Checked and revised February 16, 2024. Lighthouses: 6. Site copyright 2024 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.