A broken down Frito Lays truck on the side of the road is an eyesore. In the bottom of a quarry, it's a diver's toy.

Local quarries give divers a place to practice their sport when they're far from warm, clear waters. Thousands flock to three northwest Ohio quarries every year to dive there and see the odd attractions sunk just for them, from buses to cars to phone booths.

The Gilboa Quarry in Putnam County, the deepest body of water in Ohio at 120 feet, had 17,000 divers in it last year, employee Jodi Ferguson said. Its crown jewel is a 68-foot airplane sunk two years ago. Divers can swim around the plane or venture inside.

Art Vermette, a dive instructor from Kingsville, Ontario, makes the couple-hour drive to Gilboa when he wants to teach students. “You just can't beat the visibility, and it's deep,” he said.

Ms. Ferguson said visitors have come from all over the United States and even some foreign countries. The quarry got a boost this year after it was featured in diving's top magazines.

The highlights of the Portage Quarry in Wood County are the silo and a school bus that divers can scoot through under water. It is 70 feet at its deepest.

At White Star Park in Gibsonburg, 12,000 divers a year come to explore the Frito Lays truck, a police car, and boats. The entire quarry is less than 50 feet deep, so it's a popular place for instructors to certify students.

“Visibility is amazing,” said Steve Gruner, director of the Sandusky County Park District. He said a pilot called him two years ago because he could see the sunken police car from the sky and thought the plane had gone down there in an accident.

Robert Wagner, a dive instructor with Aqua Hut in Toledo, said he has no one favorite quarry. “Divers like them for different reasons. They all have good points and bad points,” he said.

First Published July 27, 2003, 11:12 a.m.