Well, the 'rippling' as far as I can understand from what I've read and experimented with is caused by the 'z' scale in the function of the water (according to the manual).  Unfortunately there are several placed one can change a 'z' scale in the water I've dealt with and I'm not convinced I have narrowed it down as to which one that actually is.

So theoretically if you can figure out which Z scale controls the speed of the ripple, and then figure out which value for Z equals 1 frame of time in your animation, then you should be able to create a 'loop' of rippling water by only animating one full 'up and down' motion of the z.  but unfortuntately VUE's manual is more of a tease than a help when it comes to creating this effect (IMHO).

R. Czarney or Phoul will be more of a help maybe, but I'm afraid experimentation and patience will make you the expert on this, then maybe you can post your answer and help us all out, I'm very interested in it.  I would like a little 3 second looping animation of the water and the wind in my vegetation and my sky seeming to move so I don't have to render 30 seconds or so of animation!

If all you want to move is the water, I suggest Sqirlz Water Reflections.  It is simple to use and much fun and looks fantastic.  Unfortunately, it's only the water that moves, and not the sky and the trees.  I can send you a great .swf file example of a Squirlz water rendering if you send me a personal message w/ your email address, Palagas.  Or just Google it and check out their website - it's a free program!