A 44-foot sailboat that ran aground off Kahala on Sunday was freed yesterday afternoon.

The owner of the Fast Forward and his friends worked for more than three hours yesterday to clear the sailboat from the reef, and were finally able to free it about 4:15 p.m.

They also removed the mast from the vessel, righted it and lightened it by removing its engine and other components.

State Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman Deborah Ward said the Fast Forward was to be towed to Sand Island, where it will be put on a flatbed and taken away for repairs.

She said a DLNR aquatic biologist will assess the site where the Fast Forward ran aground today for damage to the reef and will also determine the location of the boat's keel, which was stripped when the vessel ran aground.

The sailboat ran aground Sunday afternoon about 150 yards offshore.

The boat is registered to Leif Hart, who did not return a call for comment.

The vessel's grounding was the 20th this year statewide, compared with 30 in all of 2008.

Ward said the owner has told DLNR that he anchored off Kahala on Sunday before paddling to shore to meet with friends. When he returned, the vessel had run into the reef.

The Fast Forward was built in 1985.