State will remove sailboat stuck on reef near Kona

State boating officials Tuesday hope to remove a sailboat that ran aground a coral reef off old Kona Airport on Sunday night.

Deborah Ward, spokes­woman for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the owner did not have insurance or the financial means to remove the vessel.

Ward said the state has been making queries with private businesses to do an emergency removal.

California resident John Berg was sailing from Mexico on the Seaquel to meet friends at a marina on Hawaii island when he encountered problems with his Internet navigation device and heard waves crashing in the darkness.

"He sent his female companion out to look. At that point the boat started listing and pitching," photographer Cesar Laure said after talking to Berg following the accident.

Berg’s 40-foot sailboat ran aground a reef about 100 to 200 feet offshore near the old Kona Airport close to 11:30 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

"Two people on board, a man and a woman, swam to shore after the boat hit the reef," Hawaii County fire officials said.

Officials said a medical unit responded to the scene, but the two sailors were uninjured.

The Coast Guard said the Seaquel remained aground but intact without holes Monday afternoon.

Berg took about 21 days to sail from Puerto Villarta, Mexico, to Hawaii, Laure recalled Berg saying.

Laure said Berg has lived with his family on the boat for 12 years.

"He has continued to live on his boat full time," Laure said.

Laure said Berg thought the cause of his problems was a strong Wi-Fi signal that interrupted his navigational system.

Berg was unavailable for comment.