Current situation: the characters are crew members of a pirate ship. They're currently heading south for reasons unknown to them (the captain is hoping to recover a minor artifact). They've stopped at a small island to resupply, and were attacked by another ship. They managed to drive it off, but sustained some damage (the mate, whom the PCs rather like, was also severely wounded). Without the side-quest, the boat would hang around for a few days, repair, and then sail off to other lands. I'm looking for something to happen either before they leave or on that voyage.
My original idea was to have the mate attempt a mutiny, but as he's in not too good shape I'm questioning that. Also, I don't think I want to even suggest getting rid of the current captain (for story reasons). Of course, there is another guy who could try a mutiny, and I could probably make him unlikable without too much trouble. But other than the possibility of an on-deck brawl, the whole idea doesn't seem that great. Maybe something else could be going on at the same time (perhaps a storm? I was planning on using the ship-attacks-during-a-storm thing later, but I could use it now if I need to).
Does anyone have any ideas of stuff to do? Much appreciated.