Staying Home Sucks, home
Balcony View looking East from rental condo Destin Gulfgate ^401 - panoramio
Destin, the nearest town, 10 km away. Photo: rolandguidry, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Phoenix Barge (aka Lost Barge)

Dive site · United States

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

69Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Fri 6: Sea: flat, Visibility about 8 m, Water 23 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 66 out of 100

Sea
1.0 m
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
25°C

Tue 3 · 50 out of 100

Sea
1.3 m
Wind
14 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
25°C

Wed 4 · 66 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
24°C

Thu 5 · 71 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
24°C

Fri 6 · 73 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
24°C

Sat 7 · 72 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
23°C

Sun 8 · 71 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
18kn
Air
21°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 266, good
  2. Tue 350, fair
  3. Wed 466, good
  4. Thu 571, good
  5. Fri 673, good
  6. Sat 772, good
  7. Sun 871, good
  8. Mon 970, good
  9. Tue 1073, good
  10. Wed 1174, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 23 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 23 °C5 mm wetsuit
  • Faces Sswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Phoenix Barge (aka Lost Barge)
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov66, good1.0 m7 kn9kn25°C
Tue 3Nov50, fair1.3 m14 kn18kn25°C
Wed 4Nov66, good0.8 m5 kn12kn24°C
Thu 5Nov71, good0.3 m3 kn5kn24°C
Fri 6Nov73, good0.1 mflat3 kn8kn24°C
Sat 7Nov72, good0.1 mflat5 kn9kn23°C
Sun 8Nov71, good0.2 mflat9 kn18kn21°C
Mon 9Nov70, good0.3 m10 kn17kn20°C
Tue 10Nov73, good0.1 mflat5 kn15kn18°C
Wed 11Nov74, good0.0 mflat1 kn10kn19°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovHigh 02:10 +0.3 mLow 14:03 −0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 05:07 +0.2 mLow 14:48 −0.0 mHigh 20:01 +0.0 mLow 22:27 +0.0 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 07:16 +0.1 mLow 12:41 +0.0 mHigh 19:26 +0.1 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Phoenix Barge (aka Lost Barge)

A wreck dive. It goes down to 23 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces S: swell from the S reaches it, and wind from the N blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 11 km away. The sea is about 18°C in January, its coldest month (7 mm wetsuit and hood), and 30°C in August, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Destin.

  • What it is Wreck.
  • How deep Down to 23 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 11 km away.

Water about 23°C: 5 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 8 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Feb, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Nov and Dec (about 10 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$852–US$1,560 each

about US$852–US$1,560 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to VPS, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$161–US$342
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$47–US$81
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$302–US$503
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$637
Totalabout US$852–US$1,560

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Destin

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Destin

about 20 min by car · 65 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 65 places to stay in Destin · Booking.com

About Destin its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 4h 45m

About 4h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → VPS, direct, then 40 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week's visibility, the current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.

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