Hi Stephe,
Sorry to hear that. Are your shrouds 3mm? On my new boat I have only 3mm as well and I think that I will change to 4mm. What happened to you, is what I always expected to happen, if you sail a boat double handed and the shrouds and stays are only sized for single hander usage. Thanks for sharing your expierence.
I agree with the comment about eye-spliced lines, however shrouds and stays from synthetic fibres would be quite thick? Maybe trapez wires, could be 3-4mm dyneema.
Cheers and good luck with repairs,
Klaus