Hey Nick, sucks about the shoulder!
For a low budget good enough quality cam I also recommend the Sony HDR-CX405... It's the one I use, very compact, great zoom. The footage I upload is shot with the cam and the distance between can be up to 100m away. The quality suffers a little the further out it zooms. Still good enough to provide feedback.
I would recommend getting a spare battery set -depends on how long your record times will be- because the Sony battery does not last long.
I also recommend a tri-pod... One with a fluid head. It is difficult to follow moving things smoothly with the standard photo camera tripod, and you WILL miss a critical moment because the tripod jerks as you try pan or tilt to follow the action. There are low budget options, like Velbon.
Heal up soon... sure the extra beach time is going to help as well 😀
Commented on I know I need to work on my stance, s...
13 Jan 16:49
Hey Will... If you bring your front foot back a bit the board will loosen up more, it is difficult to turn when the front foot so forward. Your stance looks exactly like mine when I was starting 😀
I can't see your pop up, are you perhaps putting your front foot forward first?
Surf skate will help, and you can also cut a piece of cardboard that is the same length as the correct stance, then practice your walk up on that to get muscle and placement memory.
After a few rounds of that, begin to incorporate the cardboard slide. Practicing on a BOSU will also help with not stepping too far.