Although both as journalists and members of the industry we wouldn’t miss coming to SEMICON West, after a couple of days of several very intense meetings with representatives of some of the companies attending, and covering the various events for both the Show Daily (for which we are responsible again this year) and for our Website, it's nice to have the chance to ditch the suit and escape into something pleasant and laid back.

One of these rare escapes is the yearly Semitool (Kalispell, Montana) cruise around the San Francisco Bay. Where else are you going to find good company, excellent food, and fine, cool adult potables to help you leave stress on the shore?

The three-hour cruise took us around the Bay, getting within tommy-gun range from the once Federal prison of Alcatraz, around Angel Island, past Sausalito, and under the Golden Gate Bridge and back. I am not overly fond of San Francisco, but on the return from the bridge, watching the city lights coming on as night fell, until the whole horizon is lit up with the Transamerica Pyramid, Coit Tower, and Fishermen’s Wharf standing out, overly gussied up with electric jewels, like a lady of shady repute on her day off, is an awesome sight.



Our cruise ship, The San Francisco Spirit.

Semitool provided those of us fortunate to be invited, with two enormous comfortable tour buses to take us from our hotel to the Embarcadero where our vessel, The San Francisco Spirit, awaited us, and back.

However, when we arrived at our destination, we saw a large group of people standing where we would have to board our ship. It turned out that these 60 or so folks were marooned. It seems their buses dropped them at Pier 12—although their objective was Pier 40—and promptly left, abandoning them there before they had a chance to realize that this was not where they were supposed to be.



Ray Thompson, COB and CEO of Semitool, and rescuer of distressed tourists.

As soon as he found out what had happened, before boarding us Ray Thompson, Semitool’s COB and CEO kept our buses from leaving and told the drivers to take the stranded tourists to their destination.

“This isn’t what we agreed to,” grumbled the head driver.

“I know,” Ray replied. “We’ll pay for it, just take these folks where they were supposed to go.”

You’re a rare, endangered species, Ray—a kind gentleman… also a class act.