“Considering that the navy cooped up thousands of young men for months on end without access to women, it is surprising how few homosexual incidents resulted in prosecution. When one looks through the massive leather-bound volumes in the Public Record Office that contain the summaries of naval courts-martial, one rarely finds case of ‘unnatural crimes’ among the multitude of other offenses.”
https://www.britishtars.com/2018/01/homosexuality-in-royal-navy.html
“Penalty of committing Buggery or Sodomy. XXIX. If any Person in the Fleet shall commit the unnatural and detestable Sin of Buggery or Sodomy with Man or Beast, he shall be punished with Death by the Sentence of a Court-martial.”
So much for “rum, sodomy and the lash” . . . more like for pirates.