Walton Hopper Barge (aka Frangista)
Dive site · United States
Is it worth the trip?
70Good out of 100 for your dates
2 days tie for best
Tue 3 · 51 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.3 m
- Wind
- 18 kn
- Gusts
- 24kn
- Air
- 24°C
Wed 4 · 66 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.9 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 25°C
Thu 5 · 71 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 3 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Air
- 24°C
Fri 6 · 72 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.2 mflat
- Wind
- 3 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 24°C
Sat 7 · 72 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 2 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Air
- 24°C
Sun 8 · 71 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.1 mflat
- Wind
- 7 kn
- Gusts
- 16kn
- Air
- 21°C
Mon 9 · 70 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.4 m
- Wind
- 10 kn
- Gusts
- 23kn
- Air
- 21°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Tue 348, fair
- Wed 465, good
- Thu 571, good
- Fri 672, good
- Sat 773, good
- Sun 872, good
- Mon 970, good
- Tue 1073, good
- Wed 1173, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 24 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.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 3Nov | 48, fair | 1.3 m | 18 kn | 24kn | 24°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 65, good | 0.9 m | 8 kn | 11kn | 25°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 71, good | 0.4 m | 3 kn | 6kn | 24°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 72, good | 0.2 mflat | 3 kn | 10kn | 24°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 73, good | 0.1 mflat | 2 kn | 11kn | 24°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 72, good | 0.1 mflat | 7 kn | 16kn | 21°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 70, good | 0.4 m | 10 kn | 23kn | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 73, good | 0.1 mflat | 1 kn | 12kn | 20°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 73, good | 0.1 mflat | 3 kn | 14kn | 22°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
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:08 +0.2 mLow 14:46 −0.1 mHigh 20:05 +0.0 mLow 22:29 +0.0 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 07:17 +0.1 mLow 12:48 +0.0 mHigh 19:30 +0.1 m
- Thu 5 NovLow 01:11 −0.0 mHigh 09:11 +0.1 mLow 11:51 +0.1 mHigh 19:13 +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).
- Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov7of 7: a trip from Wed 4 Nov
- 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
Walton Hopper Barge (aka Frangista) on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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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
- Miramar Frangista Fish/Dive Reef 0.2 km away
- Miramar Beach Fish/Dive Reef 4.1 km away
- Dolphin Snorkel Reef 5.3 km away
- Miss Louise 6.2 km away
- Topsail Bluff Fish/Dive Reef 6.5 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Walton Hopper Barge (aka Frangista)
A wreck dive. It goes down to 24 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 13 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 Miramar Beach. Within 5 km we also list 2 dive sites.
- What it is Wreck.
- How deep Down to 24 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 13 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 Mar, May, Jun, Jul and Aug (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$845–US$1,540 each
about US$845–US$1,540 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to VPS, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$161–US$342 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$40–US$60 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$302–US$503 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$637 |
| Total | about US$845–US$1,540 |
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: Miramar Beach
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 10 min by car · 136 places to stay
about US$114/nightcountry average
About Miramar Beach 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 40m
About 4h 40m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → VPS, direct, then 35 min by road
Flights MDW → VPS on your dates · AviasalesAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in Miramar Beach · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in Miramar Beach · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
Emerald Coast Scuba 13 km
ScubaTech 14 km
EXND Diving and Marine Services 22 km
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 records at this site itself, so these are the animals divers and surveys have recorded at other sites within 25 km in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it there, not that you will.
Clearnose skate Rostroraja eglanteriaRay
Seen in 6 records.
Common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatusWhale or dolphin
Seen in 11 records, mostly Jun to Oct.
Atlantic ghost crab Ocypode quadrata
Seen in 22 records, mostly Jun to Oct.
Eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki
Seen in 11 records, mostly Apr to Jun.
Speckled crab Arenaeus cribrarius
Seen in 8 records.
Lagodon rhomboidesSea bream
Seen in 8 records.
Hardshell crab Callinectes sapidus
Seen in 7 records.
Slippery dick Halichoeres bivittatus
Seen in 4 records.
Scaled sardine Harengula jaguana
Seen in 4 records.
Menticirrhus littoralisDrums or croakers
Seen in 4 records.
Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus
Seen in 4 records.
Hardhead catfish Ariopsis felis
Seen in 3 records.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO) and GBIF.org (1 November 2026, doi:10.15468/dl.jeesns), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS and GBIF; common names from the Catalogue of Life, the GBIF Backbone and Wikidata. Largest datasets here: iNaturalist Research-grade Observations; USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database; Great Eggcase Hunt - citizen science observations of chondrichthyian eggcases; Marine Invertebrate voucher specimens at the Florida Biodiversity Collection, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Sightings for AN/AQS-20 Sonar Test Event - April-May 2013. Credits
This week's visibility and the current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.