The 72-foot sailing vessel Momentum ran aground early yesterday morning nearly 300 yards off the Sheraton-Waikiki hotel.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over near-shore waters, said the boat owner and two passengers swam ashore just after 2:15 a.m. from the grounded vessel.

The owner told the department later that he and the others were asleep while the boat was anchored offshore, and the bow apparently wore through and severed the anchor line, causing the boat to drift in.

By 9:30 a.m. the vessel was 100 yards offshore in the “;Pops”; surf break, keeled over in about three feet of water.

The state said the owner, who has a temporary mooring permit at Ala Wai Harbor, was working through his insurance company and a salvage contractor to remove the boat, possibly at high tide at 4 a.m. today.

The Coast Guard said yesterday that there was no immediate danger of pollutants being released.

The vessel reportedly was carrying two gallons of diesel fuel and five gallons of oil when it went aground. A small portable tank and batteries were removed from the boat.

The owner told the state that the hull is intact and that the keel is keeping the hull off the reef.