Hong Kong  - A windsurfer whose sail broke was blown from Chinese waters into a Hong Kong bay after six hours adrift at sea, a news report said Monday.

Businessman Sherman Kwan paddled with his hands through three-metre high waves across some of the world's busiest shipping lanes in a six-hour odyssey, the Hong Kong Standard reported.

A container ship passed within 30 metres of him and a second also nearly hit him before he found his way to safety in a quiet Hong Kong bay on Saturday night, the newspaper said.

Kwan, 47, a Hong Kong native who settled with his wife in mainland China, was hungry and dehydrated and was fed by villagers in Hong Kong's Hoi Ha before he called police for help.

Marine police gave him food and a change of clothes and interviewed him about his illegal entry before he returned to China by train, the Standard said.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 but maintains strict border controls with neighboring southern China. (dpa)