Watch out for the crowds on Frunzenskaya Naberezhnaya on the evenings of May 18 and 19. They'll all be trying to get on board the old Moskva-28 boat for the Rynda party, the opening of the summer clubbing and dancing season. This floating club will be vying for the title of most successful summer project for the third year in a row. As in past years, this refurbished river tram - which dates back to 1976 - will leave Frunzenskaya Nab. at 11 p.m., dock near the Rossiya hotel at 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. and arrive back where it started from at 5 o'clock in the morning.

With its loud dance music and herds of club-goers, the boat will certainly grab the attention of late-night strollers. But not everyone who wants to join the fun will be allowed to do so - the Rynda practices a strange form of face control. I still can't work out how the security guys decide who gets on board and who doesn't. I only realized there was face control last summer, when I turned up at the river with a new friend. She was wondering why there were so many people on the dock while so few were getting on the boat itself. She soon found out.

Even so, there is never shortage of people coming out to dance the night away on the river to music spun by such top Russian DJs as Sanches, Kubikoff and Jungle. The boat is designed to hold 250 people comfortably, but can take up to 300. When there are a lot of people on the boat, it doesn't dock at its assigned times so as not to overload and risk sinking.

Though there are always plenty of people on the dance floor, most people come not to dance but to drink the cheap cocktails on offer from plastic cups and chat with their friends about everything and nothing. The river and the views of nighttime Moscow make the perfect backdrop for this. You could say that we've all seen Moscow a million times before, but the city looks different at night, and seeing it all from a floating club is a lot different from taking a tourist trip on a sightseeing boat by day.

Sailing on the Rynda every weekend might get a bit boring. Personally, I got bored after the first hour. There's something about the confined space and not being able to get off the boat until a set time. Certainly, there are always some good moments, but it all depends on the vibe - the DJ, the music and the people on board. The boat will sail until the cold returns in mid-September. The boat leaves from Frunzenskaya Nab., 100 meters from the Park Kultury metro station at 11 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Cover is 150 rubles.