Sometimes God will expose us publicly if we refuse to get right with Him in private. Jonah eventually came to terms with the gravity of his disobedience and made restitution. We can't accuse him of lacking courage and compassion. His earlier disobedience had simply overruled them. It's amazing what depths of sin disobedience can lead us into.
Obedience is better than sacrifice.
They had good intentions and tender hearts. They were doing all they could to avoid throwing a fellow man overboard. But they had no ideal what they were up against. Finally the fear of losing their own lives made them ask for forgiveness before reluctantly throwing Jonah overboard. This resulted in the raging storm ceasing.