Katie Marcar considers lessons on faith from  Master and Commander . This week, for the first time, I opened a copy of the book Seamanship in the Age of Sail by John Harland. As a complete landlubber myself, I hope that this well-illustrated volume will help me to understand tacking, rigging, reefing and so much more. How did I get here? The age of sail comes a long time after the age of Jesus. Years ago, I visited Akaroa on Banks Peninsula. My hopes for a weekend of enjoyable walks were dashed by solid, heavy rain. I somehow found a copy of Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander , the first novel of his Aubrey & Maturin series. The series was the basis for Peter Weir’s 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World , starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. There is something satisfying, and perhaps more than a little fortuitous, in reading Master and Commander in Akaroa on Banks Peninsula, immersed as it is in maritime history.…