What Brown said to Sybert leaving the ship.

When the ships crew was going down the ladder, Brown tells Sybert that he was right about staying on the ship, basically, and that Sybert should be the last one off. Was that a back handed compliment? Or was that some kind of tradition or honorary thing with crewmen? Seems like he would have earned the right to be the first one off, even though I can see as the leader why he chose to see everyone off first.