I have been experimenting with black and white photography lately. I am still in doubt on what makes a b+w photo a good photo.

I have posted recently the image:
Afsluitdijk .
I received the quite fair comment that the blown highlights on the water are pretty evident (and not necessarily pretty).

My question is: what is more important in a b+w photo:

a) strong contrast with areas of full blacks and full whites, at the expense of blown highlights
or
b) protect the highlights and avoid blocked shadows, at the expense of less impact/reduced contrast

I will be very grateful if you can share your opinion, or point to good resources on the B+W subject.

Rob