Hi Sandra, At least "Murphy" was on your side for a change, and the failure happened on the last day of your vacation.
From your description, it almost sounds as if the sleeve under the thimble was the item that failed.
Normally it is a press fit and holds the thimble in place. If it wasn't swedged properly, then it couldn't hold the load and the wire just pulled out of the sleeve........... leading to your dismasting. Your St. Petersburg weather sure sounds a lot nicer than what we have here in Connecticut at the moment. It started snowing Friday afternoon, and didn't stop till about noon on Sunday. We could float a M15 in our current depth of snow! Just spent most of Sunday digging out and clearing the driveway.............. My M15 is buried under the snow mass.............. But in a few more days, spring will be around the corner and sailing season starts again. Whoopee! Merry Christmas, and once your shroud is fixed M15 sailing only gets better and better. Connie M15 #400