Okay a few changes here, I'll just run through them briefly:
-tweaked the wave shape to be more uneven (by adding f_spotted) and to have 
more interesting breaking wave patterns (by compressing the ridged_mf 
pattern on the y axis, so waves tend to fold over more).
-adjusted camera & ring position relative to the waves to get an interesting 
wave crest in the middle of the view.
-improved foam, same pattern as before but tweaked following suggestions, 
thanks guys!
-who put that boat there? as I mentioned in my first post my water has a 
really nice under-water shading, but there was nothing underwater to show it 
off, so I built this simple boat object and thrust it forcefully beneath the 
waves.
-mist, you can barely see it but it helps the distance look distant.
-no radiosity - I turned it off because it wasn't doing much apart from 
slowing things down, though I need to improve my fake-radiosity lights 
because the bottom of the ring is now black. :-/

The thing that's bugging me now is that patch of sky we can see looks way 
too sunny to justify the waves let alone the sinking ship! But it looks 
gorgeous reflecting off the waves... I'll try a dramatic sky and see how it 
looks.

Render time down to a mere 2h 24m, thanks to the aforementioned removal of 
radiosity.
-- 
Tek
http://evilsuperbrain.com

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