Thankfully, in remarkable contrast to the day before, Thursday was gloriously hot and sunny all day. We set off in search of a cooked breakfast (actually our first of the trip)  and found Tobermory to be an almost breakfast-free zone!  We were lucky to get a table at the Tobermory Bakery, which did a very fine Full Scottish Breakfast indeed.  The parade from the clock tower for the start of the Games was scheduled for 1030, but actually set off at 1015, so we watched the Oban High School Pipe Band pass our window as we filled up with calories. We then walked up the long and very steep hill to the golf course, where the Games were under way.  They had  everything one associates with Highland Games: piping  and highland dancing competition, field and track events, and of course the so-called Heavy Events - throwing the stone, the hammer and tossing the caber.  The event was very well attended, some walking round to watch the individual pipers being judged or visit the food and drinks tents, but very many families and individuals seated or lying comfortably in the heather on the hill which overlooks the arena as a natural amphitheatre, with views behind over the Sound of Mull. We met Alexander Maclean again and signed the guest book in thr Clan tent. Ian and David left earlier than Benj; I stayed so as not to miss the  caber tossing, but did get very hot lying out on the hill, and I was pleased to get back for a refreshing bottle of cold ginger beer!  By 1800 it was time to change (second outing for my kilt) and walk up to the Western Isles Hotel  for the final meal of the Malts, preceded of course by a dram overlooking the bay. There was a flyover by an RAF Hercules,  though there is considerable doubt that Andrew Bishop of the World Cruising Club arranged this, despite his claim!  The meal was a comprehensive seafood buffet, and we ate our fill, albeit for once mostly accompanied by water, as we planned to leave for Oban that night.  After the  meal we said many farewells to our fellow sailors: there were some 28 boats with 90 persons on the cruise, including a dozen youngsters, from the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, USA and Australia, so there had been many tales to swop and experiences to compare.  We walked back to the boat and prepared to leave, as David and Ian had to get off early the next morning.

We slipped our berth at 1030, and headed south, motoring in the dying light.  Benj took the helm (aided by Otto, the Autohelm) all the way, which allowed the others to take turns to snatch a couple of hours sleep. The lit buoys and lighthouses along with Vega's Simrad radar and chartplotter make the night sail straightforward, and by 0230 we were seeing the lights of Oban town on the horizon.  Once in Oban Bay, there was not enough light to find a pontoon berth in the very busy marina, so we picked up a mooring at 0300 and retired for a few hours kip. At 0600, now full daylight we cast off and hunted for a berth.  Luckily we found a vacant slot on C pontoon, albeit one marked as Reserved. There was just time to unload and we all boarded the 0730 ferry to Oban.  We said our farewells as David and Ian loaded the car for their long drive down to Castor (near Peterborough) and Benj took the same ferry back to Vega, for some breakfast and to make a start on the laundry and boat cleaning, which would last this day and the next.
This has been a most successful and enjoyable Malts Cruise, and we leave all full of intentions to repeat the experience one way or another next year if possible.
For the record, here's a summary of how we spent our cruise:
Nights aboard 13
Nautical miles 315
Hrs underway 65 (night hours 4)
Hrs under sail 36
Hrs engine use 37
Nights marina 4
Nights anchor 6
Nights mooring 3