14. An Island That Moved at Night
With their lives on the line, if the Japanese spotted them, the Abraham Crijnssen’s crew had all the incentive in the world to do whatever it took to avoid detection. The ship’s deck was completely covered with vegetation, which was arranged in such a way so as to imitate a jungle canopy. The hard work of the Dutch sailors paid off. They covered the entire deck with foliage and painted any exposed metal in shades of gray to imitate rock formations. By the time they were done, the Dutch minesweeper actually resembled an island.
Or at least it resembled an island if seen from a distance. A key difference between a ship and an island is that the former moves, while the latter does not. The camouflage plan was intended for the daytime, during which the Crijnssen remained stationary, anchored as close as possible to actual islands. Once darkness fell, the small ship would raise steam and carefully wend her way through the dangerous waters of the Java Sea, headed for the safety of Australia.
