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BOATING REPORT

BOATING REPORT; For the Coronet, 19th-Century Glory

By Barbara Lloyd

June 20, 1999

If a boat could look like a homeless waif, the 133-foot schooner Coronet is a ragamuffin of the high seas. But beneath its scruffy exterior is a sailboat as vital to United States yachting history as a national monument is to the American archives.

Never mind the snubbed stem where a graceful bowsprit once jutted. And ignore the boxy-looking wheelhouse on a deck that never knew clutter. And try to overlook the absence of a rig where two masts once soared to 135 feet.

The porcelain sinks that fold up like closed scallop shells are still affixed to its cabin. And the dark, richly carved panels of rare mahogany still line bulkhead walls between six gracious staterooms.

Good fortune was missing, however, when it came to the polished marble steps of the main saloon. They are gone now. So too is the brass chandelier, the writing desk and the open-tiled fireplace. But most any part of a boat can be replaced or rebuilt at the International Yacht Restoration School here. At least, that's the attitude that prevails when it comes to Coronet.

''What the U.S.S. Constitution is to the United States Navy, the Coronet is to yachting,'' said John Mecray, a marine artist who helped start a campaign to restore Coronet to its 19th-century eminence. ''There is no second.''

An exhibition including photos and artifacts from the partially denuded yacht is scheduled to open Saturday at the Newport Art Museum. Entitled ''Coronet: An Air of Greatness,'' the three-month show precedes a fund-raising effort for the yacht.

In the late 19th century, Coronet was the flagship of the New York Yacht Club. Built entirely of thick-planked oak and pine in 1885 by Rufus T. Bush, a club member, the yacht was designed for global voyages. It was built at the former Poillon Brothers boat yard in Brooklyn.

In 1887, in its trans-Atlantic racing debut, Coronet defeated the famous 123-foot schooner Dauntless by more than 30 hours. The 14-day passage from New York to Ireland was widely publicized. Then, under a series of eight owners, the vessel circled the globe to great fanfare. In 1888, it was the first registered yacht to round Cape Horn, at the tip of South America, from east to west.

It sailed in 1895 on a scientific expedition to Japan for Amherst College when owned by Arthur Curtiss James, a former club commodore. In 1905, the Kingdom, a nondenominational Christian group based in Maine, bought Coronet to ferry its missionaries around the world. Four years ago, the group gave Coronet to the yacht restoration school.

Of special significance at the exhibit will be three models of Coronet on loan from the New York Yacht Club's main clubhouse in Manhattan.

The display is designed to broaden public awareness of the boat, which Mecray said will cost about $7 million to restore. He contends that rebuilding Coronet is as important as revitalizing any architectural treasure. Peter Stanford, president of the National Maritime Historical Society in Peekskill, N.Y., agrees.

''She expresses an age that has vanished,'' Stanford said in a telephone interview. ''It is about ship design, and how people of that time spent their money. She has traveled so much of the globe, in voyages for scientific, religious and recreational purposes. She wraps up so much of our relationship with the sea.''

MAKING WAVES

As many as 250 sailboats are expected to race beginning Monday in Block Island Race Week. Organized for 18 years by the Storm Trysail Club, the five-day Rhode Island Sound regatta includes yachts from 24 to 60 feet. One-design class competitions take precedence this year over boats sailing under grand prix handicap rules. More than 70 sailboats are racing in closed one-design classes.

Three sailboats broke the Annapolis to Newport Race record last week. Finishing first, and setting a course record of 47 hours 45 minutes, was Chessie Racing, a 70-foot yacht skippered by George Collins of Annapolis, Md. His boat, formerly named Pyewacket, took five hours off the race record set in 1987 by Starlight Express, also a 70-footer.

Coronet1885

The Shipwrights
Welcome to the Coronet Blog

Posted By Tom Daniels on November 25, 2009

Welcome to the home page for the classic yacht, Coronet. Coronet was first launched in 1885, and was one of the most elegant sailing yachts of her day. She was designed for crossing the ocean in style, and featured a marble staircase, stained glass doors, mahogany paneled staterooms, and a piano in the main salon.

Since 1995, Coronet has been on the campus of the International Yacht Restoration School, awaiting restoration. Coronet Restoration Partners purchased her in 2006, and restoration has now begun in earnest.

We’ll be following Coronet’s team of shipwrights here as they bring this classic boat back to her former glory. We’ll cover it all, from harvesting the timber to restoring the original interior. If you are a builder, a hobbyist, a historian, or just enamored with classic boats, we think you’ll enjoy watching this beautiful vessel come back to life.

If you see this (more…) at the bottom of a post, that means that the post continues on another page. Just click it and you’ll go to the rest of the post.

Category: General | 64 Comments » Tags:

Coronet Comes to Mystic

Posted By Tom Daniels on December 8, 2022

It’s been a long long time since the last update as you probably know. A bit of explanation, and then on with the photos.

I should explain that the Coronet blog was a part time job for me, and I was hired by Jeff Rutherford and Coronet’s owner to provide intermittent updates on the project. Over the past few years, work slowed dramatically, the core crew left for other projects, and work proceeded at a much reduced pace. Funding for work became tight, and my full time work took precedence over driving the hour up to Newport to see how things were going. I apologize for not being more on top of things, even though the progress was slowing down.

Oh, and then there was Covid. That slowed things down.

In the last year, Coronet gained new owners , and they have great energy and excitement for finishing this lovely boat and getting her sailing.

While I work at the Mystic Seaport Museum where Coronet is now berthed, I don’t have any official capacity regarding her status, so sorry, no news about what happens next from here. However, Coronet has an excellent Instagram presence that is absolutely chock full of wonderful photos. Check it out !

So: the update.

Once it was clear that Coronet would be coming to the Mystic Seaport Museum, we’ve been sending folks up to Newport to help make her seaworthy for the journey along the coast. Going over land was not an option due to her size.

Our crew worked with local shipwrights from Newport to caulk and seal her hull. A local documentary film maker, Peter Slack, has some nice footage and interviews with Newport shipwright Chet Kaeson during his work on the project. There’s some excellent drone footage of the boat and surrounding area as well.

The planking below the waterline is white oak, and was traditionally caulked and seams sealed. Above the waterline, the hull is double planked and was sealed with epoxy. She has been painted with bottom paint from the waterline down.

Up on deck, the Seaport crew installed cleats and hawsepipes to accommodate the lines needed for towing and docking.

They worked many late nights to get the job done.

The process of readying the site to move Coronet was extensive. The shop and building surrounding her had to be removed,

The marina and surrounding pilings adjacent to the boat had to be removed, detailed plans made for how to lift Coronet, custom straps, massive lifting gear, on and on.

And finally, the day of the move came. It was brisk, but bright with very little wind. Ideal. One of the largest crane barges on the east coast, the Chesapeake 1000 was brought in with multiple tugs and a spud barge to perform the lift.

The size of the gear was hard to believe. It took our crew days to assemble it, using forklifts just to move the massive cables and shackles.

There are many many photos of the launch and subsequent tow to Mystic online, so I’ll include just a few here.

The launch was flawless. She lifted perfectly flat, which means that all of the calculations regarding her balance, the position of the lifting straps, etc. were right on the mark.

Everyone was very very happy.

Her seams were tight and she made very little water.

The tow, a few days later, was also perfect. Clear, calm day, and the crew of the tug Jaguar were total pros. They always are.

Jaguar rafted up to Coronet before entering the Mystic River and brought her to the seaport on the hip. All along the river, people came out to wave and take photos. It was a very sweet trip.

So many people showed up to welcome her to the Seaport, including a former captain and crewmates!! It was a real pleasure to meet them.

And now, she’s securely docked at the Seaport, awaiting the next phase of restoration. There’s much to be done before any work actually begins: naval architects will work with the new owners to lay out the interior to accommodate propulsion, modern electrical, plumbing, and safety systems, all the while seeking to incorporate as much of her original interior and other details as possible. It’s a huge job that needs to be done before a single piece of wood is sawn.

Thank you all for following along on the journey so far!

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments » Tags:

Posted By Tom Daniels on September 23, 2019

Just a reminder that Josh, the lead shipwright, has an instagram account for Coronet. His handle is TheCoronetSchooner . He hasn’t put a ton of photos up, but the ones that are there are wonderful!

Category: General | 2 Comments » Tags:

September 2019

Posted By Tom Daniels on September 11, 2019

It’s been a year, and as everyone writing in has noted, it’s been way too long since the last update. I couldn’t agree more.

So, what’s going on? For the past year, Josh has been leading a crew of 4 (5 during the summer when an IYRS intern joined them) full time working on the hull. Let’s take a look.

What you’re looking at is the forward port topsides and bulwarks of the boat, very much obscured by staging. The bow is just to the left of the dark wood angled into the hull. The topsides and bulwarks are double planked with fir. You may recall that back in 2018, the team was working up the topsides. Here’a a reminder from late July.

And here’s what that area looks like now from a somewhat different angle.

And a slightly distorted panorama looking along the starboard side.

The crew has also been fairing the hull, starting up high.

You can see the difference between the sanded upper sections, and the darker lower sections where the glue around the bungs is still apparent.

The lower hull hasn’t been faired yet. The trunnels are still slightly proud of the planking.

You can really see how they are wedged in the last inch before they’re driven home.

Back up top… Stepping onto the boat up forward, you can see how sharp her bow is.

The deck will be two layers of marine plywood, laid out to span the joints of the layer below.

Fiberglass cloth will overlay the plywood. Although not traditional, this type of deck is light, strong, very stiff, and quite watertight.

Looking aft, you can see that skylights and other deck furniture in place.

The chain plates are let into the frames and will be captured by the planking as it forms the upper bulwarks.

The crew has been very busy down below. A year ago, only a few hanging knees had been installed.

You can see how the frames are tenoned on top. Later on, the cap rail will be mortised to fit down on top of these frames.

Moving back aft, the crew has been building up the aft bulwarks.

If you look at the corner, you can see how bulwarks are built up in a brick-laid fashion.

You can see this clearly as the two sides interweave at the transom.

And then, here’s a view of this work from outside the boat.

They’ve all been installed now.

Every effort was made to save as many original knees as possible.

With the crew working full time, I’ll make sure to get up to Newport every few months now to keep everyone updated.

Category: Construction & Methods | 5 Comments » Tags:

Posted By admin on September 13, 2018

Many folks have been wondering about Coronet’s status, and I’m happy to report that a crew has been busy at work on the planking all summer. Here are a few photos of how things are going that I took during a visit in July. I apologize for the late posting…

The upper half of Coronet is double planked, meaning that there are 2 layers of planking, one on top of the other. The layers are arranged such that the outer planks cover the seams of the inner planks. Traditionally the layers of planking are glued together with thickened shellac, but that’s because they didn’t have epoxy. We have epoxy, and that’s what we use.

Here you can see 2 inner layers of planking. The next layer of planking will go halfway up the top strake of the inner planking and bury the seam.

The plank lines have been laid out (the black lines on the outside of the frames) to guide the plank installation.

The boundary between the lower carvel (single thickness, traditionally caulked) planking and upper double planking is marked by a half-height layer of the inner planking.

The ends of the planks are scarfed together to make one continuous plank the length of the boat. You can see the scarf joint here.

Since the ceiling has been installed, you can’t clamp the planks directly to the frames. Instead, the crew gets creative with a variety of clamps and 2×4’s.

The crew has been trying to save as many of the original knees as possible. After they were removed from the boat, they were surveyed for rot and checks. Those that passed were patched up with dutchmen as needed and the fastener holes filled in with wood trunnels.

If a knee is too far gone, it’s replaced by a laminate.

However, these are done quite cleverly, and the final product does not look like a laminate. If you look closely at the previous photo, you’ll see that some of the knees have had a layer of wood laid down along the curved face of the knee, giving it the look of a solid piece. You can see the lamination at the very base of these pieces.

Looking at Coronet bow-on, the starboard planking has progressed a good bit more than port.

Not much has changed on the interior since the last post. The sole bearers are in as well as the ceiling. It’s impressive.

I hope to get up to the boat again soon.

Category: Construction & Methods , General | 11 Comments » Tags:

Progress through September 2016

Posted By admin on September 18, 2016

Long overdue update

The crew has finished planking the interior. You may recall that this is all double planked, so it’s quite strong and stiff. Not bad looking either…

Back aft, a number of sole bearers (the boat version of floor joists) have been installed.

These land on wooden pads and are secured with through-bolts through angled bronze pieces.

Above, you can see the curved sky lights.

The yellow pine ceiling (inner planking) stops just shy of the stem up forward.

From the outside, you can see the gap. This is a view from the port side, looking into the stem of the boat. The starboard ceiling planking is just visible through the gap, and the built-up stem is on the left in this photo.

Inside, the sheer clamps are reinforced where they come into the stem with a massive bronze breast hook (the dark metal).

Back aft, the ceiling goes down almost to the horn timber and rudder post.

The horn timber is the heavy fore-aft timber that supports the transom, and the rudder post is the large vertical timber going through it.

The crew have also been continuing their work on the exterior double planking. Here you can see the layers as they’re laid up. The blue arrow points to the inner layer. The outer layer is built up on top of that, with the out seams falling in the center of the inner plank.

The green arrow points to a temporary batten fastened to the frames. It will come off as the planking moves upward.

Rather than have the plank ends that butt up against on another, the team scarfs multiple lengths of planking together to form continuous planking that runs the length of the boat.

Coronet was originally built with many grown knees to brace and support the deck beams. Here are a number of these knees that were removed during disassembly. You can still see the original fastener holes in them.

The old knees are being repaired and re-used in the restoration. Here you can see how the holes have been filled with solid wood plugs, and rectangular dutchmen (i.e., patches) are let in to ares where the wood was weak or rotted.

The knees are then reinstalled in the boat.

That’s it for now!

Category: Construction & Methods | 16 Comments » Tags:

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Coronet: America's oldest yacht continues extensive restoration

The 40.5 metre Coronet has been moved to Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut for the final stage of a near thirty-year restoration.

The wood-hulled sailing yacht still has three years of restoration work ahead of her and will remain on display at the museum for the remainder of the project. Exact details of the project remain under wraps, but it is understood that the interior will be the next point of focus.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by ⚓️ The Yachts of Newport ® (@yachtsofnewport)

The yacht was acquired by Newport-based IYRS School of Technology and Trades in 1995, and she was scaled back to the frame and sliced in half in order to be rebuilt. In 2004, she was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Built in 1885 at New York-based shipyard Poillon, Coronet is the oldest registered yacht in the US and has had a number of high-profile owners, including oil tycoon Rufus T. Bush and railroad magnate Arthur Curtiss James, one of the wealthiest men in America in the 1900s.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Coronet (@coronetnyc)

She famously won a transatlantic race with a cash prize of $10,000 in 1887 and has circumnavigated the globe with visits to Africa, Hawaii, China and the Middle East.

The yacht is now under the care of hospitality group Crew.

More about this yacht

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The Coronet Floats Again

The brothers behind Crew restaurants are refurbishing one of the Gilded Age's most celebrated sailing vessels.

Above: Brothers Alex and Miles Pincus aboard the Coronet in December.

In the end they did figure something out for the Coronet, enlisting investors and fellow conservators so that last December the boat was transported to the Mystic Seaport Museum for final restoration. After that? “It won’t be a restaurant. It’s too good for that. We’re thinking maybe another race across the Atlantic.”

Norman Vanamee is the articles director of Town & Country.

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RESTORATION “CORONET”

Coronet is the world’s only remaining Gilded Age vessel. Built in 1885 for a New York Yacht Club member.

Coronet is 192 feet over all and built entirely of wood, including wooden treenail fastenings. Her history includes sailing around the world twice, rounding the Horn five times, hosting Alexander Graham Bell, the King of Hawaii and the Emperor of Japan on board, a stint as flagship of the New York Yacht Club, providing transport for the first American/Japanese scientific project and transporting missionaries to Palestine and Africa. Coronet has been afloat for all of her 119 years. Her hull planking, frames and ceiling are all original and her Stanford White interior is 90% intact. J Class Management supervised the donation, stabilization, historical documentation, hauling and set up for the complete restoration of Coronet. The ongoing project, supervised by the International Yacht Restoration School, will return Coronet to her original, nineteenth-century configuration with no engine or electricity on board . Visitors are encouraged to come and see this restoration at the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) in Newport, Rhode Island. To read more about Coronet and IYRS, please go to www.yachtcoronet.org.

For complete restoration updates view the Coronet Blog

Name: Coronet Class: Schooner Designer(s): Smith & Terry, Christopher Crosby, William Townsend Type of Boat: 2 masted Gaff Topsail Schooner Year Built: 1885 Built by: C & R Poillon, Brooklyn, New York LOA m / ft: 58.5m / 192′ LOD m / ft: 40.5m / 133′ LWL m / ft: 38.1m / 125′ Beam m / ft: 8.5m / 28′ Draft m / ft: 3.6m / 12′ Yard No: Sail Stats: Sail area: 8,300 sq. ft. Construction: Wooden hull Other: Freeboard: 6′ 174 GRT

Construction Update October 16, 2013 – Temporary boards laid along the inside faces of the stanchions show the eventual shape of the bulwarks. (they’re really safety rails) Coronet’s form is easily seen these days now that she’s completely framed.

Construction Update October 16, 2013

Construction Update October 16, 2013 – The deck skylights and covered hatches have all been positioned to give a sense of how she will look when completed.

Construction Update February 26, 2013

RESTORATION NEW BUILD
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One Comment

Frank Sanford and Shilo ministries owned this at some point I believe. My great-grandfather sailed on this ship along with his brother. My grandfather Issac Gleason as a small child sailed back from Jerusalem in the 1800’s. Do you have any history of the time it belonged to Frank Sanford and his voyages? Very interested in my family history and would love to come and see this vessel!!

Schooner Coronet around the world

The schooner Coronet in 1893, racing off New York, photographed by Nathaniel Stebbins.

I n the 1880s Rufus T. Bush was at the top of his game. Standard Oil had purchased his oil refining business and Bush now had a great deal of money and was retired. He had previously owned a steam yacht but now he wanted a schooner. One of the very best wooden boat builders in New York City was the C & R Poillon shipyard, located in Brooklyn at the end of Bridge Street, close to where the Manhattan Bridge is today. Brothers Cornelius and Richard Poillon were renowned for building fast and able Sandy Hook pilot boats and well-appointed yachts.

The schooner built for Bush, Coronet , was launched in August 1885. Designed by William Townsend, she was built along the lines of a pilot boat. Coronet was a gaff schooner with a length of 133 feet, a beam of 27 feet and a draft of 11.6 feet. The interior was done by Stanford White, with stained glass doors, a sweeping marble staircase, mahogany-paneled staterooms and an 18 by 18-foot main saloon with deep pile carpets and a chandelier. She also had a piano, a marble fireplace and six staterooms. The ship was captained by Christopher S. Crosby for 20 years.

Last month we wrote about the race between Dauntless and Coronet from New York to Ireland. After the race Bush put the ship up for sale, but as there were no takers he and his son Irving decided in 1888 to do a circumnavigation instead.

Coronet was the first American-registered yacht to round Cape Horn. The ship circumnavigated going east around the world. Bush kept Coronet for five years and in the years after him, she has had at least eight different owners. The ship has been used for scientific expeditions, cargo carrying, picket patrol and for Christian evangelism. This last purpose was carried on by The Kingdom, a religious organization that purchased Coronet in 1905. The Kingdom ultimately donated Coronet to the International Yacht Restoration School in the mid 1990s. Now Coronet is owned by Crew, a restaurant group owned by brothers Miles and Alex Pincus. The brothers have begun a three-year restoration of Coronet at Mystic Seaport.

So let’s join Captain Crosby in 1888 as Coronet heads north and east from Cape Horn. It is December 12 and we’ll do a morning lower limb sun shot.

The height of eye is 20 feet, there is no index error and the ship’s clock is set on LMT.

We’re looking to find the GMT of the sun’s observation and need to plot the sun line and calculate an estimated position. The time of the observation is 09:52:30 LMT. The DR position of Coronet at the time of the observation is S 53° 15’ by W 65° 34’.

Captain Crosby takes an observation of the sun’s lower limb with an Hs of 52° 02.8’. n

A. What is the time in GMT? B. What is the Ho? C. Using Volume 3 of HO 249 , calculate the intercept and azimuth. Plot the EP.

For answer click HERE

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The best golf clubs in moscow: luxury, exclusivity, and entertainment.

By Walter Raymond

February 24, 2015

The Best Golf Clubs in…

In Russia, the western concept of building architecturally beautiful golf courses filled with modern and luxurious amenities has found fertile ground. What was considered a frivolous pastime during the time of the Soviets has become the latest trend for the stylish set. These days, there are countless options around Moscow to practice golf, polo, ski, yachting, and other sports alongside 5-star hotels, luxurious country houses, and magnificent villas.

The game of golf is a sport that requires passion and expertise. It is also part of a culture that considers this pastime a synonym of social prestige and exclusivity. In recent years, the new Russian elite has turned to golf as a vehicle of integration in the era of globalization. Golf courses are also meeting and socializing spaces where Muscovite tycoons can relax and also seal business deals.

Golf Courses in Russia

The Moscow Country Club, Pestovo Golf & Yacht Club, Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club, and Zavidovo Golf Club, PGA National Russia are some of the most exclusive and elegant golf courses in Russia. Some of them have made it to the list of Top 15 golf clubs in the world, a source of great prestige for the country.

Moscow Country Club Moscow Country Club

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The first 18-hole golf course built in Russia, Moscow Country Club, hosts the exclusive PGA European Tour. Located just eight miles from the city center, this luxurious facility was created by architect Robert Trent Jones Jr . The design takes advantage of a typical Russian birch and spruce forest to provide a natural environment of extraordinary beauty.

Pestovo Golf & Yacht Club Pestovo Golf & Yacht Club

The Pestovo Golf & Yacht Club is 18 miles from the heart of Moscow, close to historical monuments from the 17th and 18th centuries. Designed by famed architects Paul and Dave Thomas , this 18-hole course is part of a complex that includes a yacht club, an equestrian center, and a health and wellness facility. Pestovo Golf & Yacht Club is Russia’s version of a classic country club with multiple attractions.

Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club

This park is among the best in Eastern Europe and was awarded the 2014 World Golf Award as the best golf course in Russia. Located 25 miles from Moscow, it is part of a vast complex featuring an 18-hole golf course, designed by Jack Nicklaus , a polo club and a mountain ski club with four tracks. The design combines classic Scottish, Alpine, and English features in a dreamy landscape.

Zavidovo Golf Club, PGA National Russia Zavidovo Golf Club, PGA National Russia

Less than 60 miles from Moscow, this golf course with a definite Scottish design is the only one in Russia recognized as a PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) from Britain and Ireland. Located in an ecologically pristine area on the banks of the Volga River, the Zavidovo Golf Club embodies the spirit and appearance of the legendary Scottish golf courses. Its many springs and streams, hills, forests, swamps and lakes justify its reputation as a very demanding circuit. Last year, it entered the exclusive club of the 15 best golf courses in the world. ■

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The Comprehensive Guide to Moscow Nightlife

Posted on April 14, 2018 July 26, 2018
by Kings of Russia
8 minute read

Moscow’s nightlife scene is thriving, and arguably one of the best the world has to offer – top-notch Russian women, coupled with a never-ending list of venues, Moscow has a little bit of something for everyone’s taste. Moscow nightlife is not for the faint of heart – and if you’re coming, you better be ready to go Friday and Saturday night into the early morning.

This comprehensive guide to Moscow nightlife will run you through the nuts and bolts of all you need to know about Moscow’s nightclubs and give you a solid blueprint to operate with during your time in Moscow.

What you need to know before hitting Moscow nightclubs

Prices in moscow nightlife.

Before you head out and start gaming all the sexy Moscow girls , we have to talk money first. Bring plenty because in Moscow you can never bring a big enough bankroll. Remember, you’re the man so making a fuzz of not paying a drink here or there will not go down well.

Luckily most Moscow clubs don’t do cover fees. Some electro clubs will charge 15-20$, depending on their lineup. There’s the odd club with a minimum spend of 20-30$, which you’ll drop on drinks easily. By and large, you can scope out the venues for free, which is a big plus.

Bottle service is a great deal in Moscow. At top-tier clubs, it starts at 1,000$. That’ll go a long way with premium vodka at 250$, especially if you have three or four guys chipping in. Not to mention that it’s a massive status boost for getting girls, especially at high-end clubs.

Without bottle service, you should estimate a budget of 100-150$ per night. That is if you drink a lot and hit the top clubs with the hottest girls. Scale down for less alcohol and more basic places.

Dress code & Face control

Door policy in Moscow is called “face control” and it’s always the guy behind the two gorillas that gives the green light if you’re in or out.

In Moscow nightlife there’s only one rule when it comes to dress codes:

You can never be underdressed.

People dress A LOT sharper than, say, in the US and that goes for both sexes. For high-end clubs, you definitely want to roll with a sharp blazer and a pocket square, not to mention dress shoes in tip-top condition. Those are the minimum requirements to level the playing field vis a vis with other sharply dressed guys that have a lot more money than you do. Unless you plan to hit explicit electro or underground clubs, which have their own dress code, you are always on the money with that style.

Getting in a Moscow club isn’t as hard as it seems: dress sharp, speak English at the door and look like you’re in the mood to spend all that money that you supposedly have (even if you don’t). That will open almost any door in Moscow’s nightlife for you.

Types of Moscow Nightclubs

In Moscow there are four types of clubs with the accompanying female clientele:

High-end clubs:

These are often crossovers between restaurants and clubs with lots of tables and very little space to dance. Heavy accent on bottle service most of the time but you can work the room from the bar as well. The hottest and most expensive girls in Moscow go there. Bring deep pockets and lots of self-confidence and you have a shot at swooping them.

Regular Mid-level clubs:

They probably resemble more what you’re used to in a nightclub: big dancefloors, stages and more space to roam around. Bottle service will make you stand out more but you can also do well without. You can find all types of girls but most will be in the 6-8 range. Your targets should always be the girls drinking and ideally in pairs. It’s impossible not to swoop if your game is at least half-decent.

Basic clubs/dive bars:

Usually spots with very cheap booze and lax face control. If you’re dressed too sharp and speak no Russian, you might attract the wrong type of attention so be vigilant. If you know the local scene you can swoop 6s and 7s almost at will. Usually students and girls from the suburbs.

Electro/underground clubs:

Home of the hipsters and creatives. Parties there don’t mean meeting girls and getting drunk but doing pills and spacing out to the music. Lots of attractive hipster girls if that is your niche. That is its own scene with a different dress code as well.

What time to go out in Moscow

Moscow nightlife starts late. Don’t show up at bars and preparty spots before 11pm because you’ll feel fairly alone. Peak time is between 1am and 3am. That is also the time of Moscow nightlife’s biggest nuisance: concerts by artists you won’t know and who only distract your girls from drinking and being gamed. From 4am to 6am the regular clubs are emptying out but plenty of people, women included, still hit up one of the many afterparty clubs. Those last till well past 10am.

As far as days go: Fridays and Saturdays are peak days. Thursday is an OK day, all other days are fairly weak and you have to know the right venues.

The Ultimate Moscow Nightclub List

Short disclaimer: I didn’t add basic and electro clubs since you’re coming for the girls, not for the music. This list will give you more options than you’ll be able to handle on a weekend.

Preparty – start here at 11PM

Classic restaurant club with lots of tables and a smallish bar and dancefloor. Come here between 11pm and 12am when the concert is over and they start with the actual party. Even early in the night tons of sexy women here, who lean slightly older (25 and up).

The second floor of the Ugolek restaurant is an extra bar with dim lights and house music tunes. Very small and cozy with a slight hipster vibe but generally draws plenty of attractive women too. A bit slower vibe than Valenok.

Very cool, spread-out venue that has a modern library theme. Not always full with people but when it is, it’s brimming with top-tier women. Slow vibe here and better for grabbing contacts and moving on.

High-end: err on the side of being too early rather than too late because of face control.

Secret Room

Probably the top venue at the moment in Moscow . Very small but wildly popular club, which is crammed with tables but always packed. They do parties on Thursdays and Sundays as well. This club has a hip-hop/high-end theme, meaning most girls are gold diggers, IG models, and tattooed hip hop chicks. Very unfavorable logistics because there is almost no room no move inside the club but the party vibe makes it worth it. Strict face control.

Close to Secret Room and with a much more favorable and spacious three-part layout. This place attracts very hot women but also lots of ball busters and fakes that will leave you blue-balled. Come early because after 4am it starts getting empty fast. Electronic music.

A slightly kitsch restaurant club that plays Russian pop and is full of gold diggers, semi-pros, and men from the Caucasus republics. Thursday is the strongest night but that dynamic might be changing since Secret Room opened its doors. You can swoop here but it will be a struggle.

Mid-level: your sweet spot in terms of ease and attractiveness of girls for an average budget.

Started going downwards in 2018 due to lax face control and this might get even worse with the World Cup. In terms of layout one of the best Moscow nightclubs because it’s very big and bottle service gives you a good edge here. Still attracts lots of cute girls with loose morals but plenty of provincial girls (and guys) as well. Swooping is fairly easy here.

I haven’t been at this place in over a year, ever since it started becoming ground zero for drunken teenagers. Similar clientele to Icon but less chic, younger and drunker. Decent mainstream music that attracts plenty of tourists. Girls are easy here as well.

Sort of a Coyote Ugly (the real one in Moscow sucks) with party music and lots of drunken people licking each others’ faces. Very entertaining with the right amount of alcohol and very easy to pull in there. Don’t think about staying sober in here, you’ll hate it.

Artel Bessonitsa/Shakti Terrace

Electronic music club that is sort of a high-end place with an underground clientele and located between the teenager clubs Icon and Gipsy. Very good music but a bit all over the place with their vibe and their branding. You can swoop almost any type of girl here from high-heeled beauty to coked-up hipsters, provided they’re not too sober.

Afterparty: if by 5AM you haven’t pulled, it’s time to move here.

Best afterparty spot in terms of trying to get girls. Pretty much no one is sober in there and savage gorilla game goes a long way. Lots of very hot and slutty-looking girls but it can be hard to tell apart who is looking for dick and who is just on drugs but not interested. If by 9-10am you haven’t pulled, it is probably better to surrender.

The hipster alternative for afterparties, where even more drugs are in play. Plenty of attractive girls there but you have to know how to work this type of club. A nicer atmosphere and better music but if you’re desperate to pull, you’ll probably go to Miks.

Weekday jokers: if you’re on the hunt for some sexy Russian girls during the week, here are two tips to make your life easier.

Chesterfield

Ladies night on Wednesdays means this place gets pretty packed with smashed teenagers and 6s and 7s. Don’t pull out the three-piece suit in here because it’s a “simpler” crowd. Definitely your best shot on Wednesdays.

If you haven’t pulled at Chesterfield, you can throw a Hail Mary and hit up Garage’s Black Music Wednesdays. Fills up really late but there are some cute Black Music groupies in here. Very small club. Thursday through Saturday they do afterparties and you have an excellent shot and swooping girls that are probably high.

Shishas Sferum

This is pretty much your only shot on Mondays and Tuesdays because they offer free or almost free drinks for women. A fairly low-class club where you should watch your drinks. As always the case in Moscow, there will be cute girls here on any day of the week but it’s nowhere near as good as on the weekend.

In a nutshell, that is all you need to know about where to meet Moscow girls in nightlife. There are tons of options, and it all depends on what best fits your style, based on the type of girls that you’re looking for.