I agree with John, Martin. You were up against it in a big way, and considering the conditions and amount of movement in the scene (waves move fast under high winds) they've come out well. As for tripods, whilst it's no up to the carbon fibre tripods, it's worth checking out the
Redsnapper tripods with ballhead (about £100). They are rated for 10Kg and have spiked feet. There is a bag hanger on the bottom of the centre column and they feel well made. I have the
3 way head, it's rated for 6 Kg and have used it for shooting some of the images of the moon I posted at 1200mm with the C80ED and a 2xTC mounted on it. At that focal length, it took about 3 seconds for vibrations to subside. I have no relationship with them apart from having one of the tripods.
