Oyster Shucking Aboard ARGIA Pairs Mystic River Oysters With a Sunset Sail

Oyster Shucking Aboard ARGIA Pairs Mystic River Oysters With a Sunset Sail Thursday, Sept. 24, putting a raw oyster bar from J&R Seafood Market aboard Mystic’s 81-foot schooner for two hours of sailing, shucking, and eating oysters harvested from local waters.

This isn’t simply a sunset cruise where oysters happen to be served.

J&R will set up an onboard raw bar with freshly shucked local oysters, while guests can get a close-up look at how an oyster is opened and learn a little about the shellfish growing in the waters around them.

Then ARGIA heads down the Mystic River as evening settles over the shoreline.

The oysters are included in the $80 sailing ticket, and the trip is BYOB.

Eating the Waters You’re Sailing Through

There’s something particularly appropriate about serving oysters aboard a sailing ship in Mystic.

Oysters are one of the foods most directly connected to their environment. Because they’re filter feeders, they spend their lives drawing surrounding water across their gills to collect microscopic food.

That means an oyster isn’t simply seafood that happens to come from the ocean. Its characteristics can change depending on the water in which it was raised, including salinity, temperature, currents, available nutrients and the composition of the seafloor.

It’s why oyster enthusiasts talk about merroir, the marine counterpart to wine’s terroir.

An oyster raised in the brinier waters closer to Long Island Sound can taste noticeably different from one grown farther into a river or protected cove.

Thursday’s sail essentially turns that idea into an experience: taste locally harvested oysters while traveling through the same coastal environment that produced them.

J&R Brings the Raw Bar Aboard

The oysters come aboard through J&R Seafood Market, the Mystic seafood company at 45 Williams Avenue.

J&R’s story started in 2016 with two Stonington fishermen, John and Richie, whose initials became the company’s name.

Both grew up in Stonington and remained involved in the local fishing industry. Frustrated with what they saw as overpriced and lower-quality seafood in the marketplace, they began supplying fresh seafood themselves.

The business started with sea scallops.

It didn’t stay that small.

J&R expanded into wholesale seafood for chefs and markets, while the next generation of the family, Allison and Andrew, developed the retail side into J&R Seafood Market in Mystic.

Today, the market carries fresh fish and shellfish, prepares chowders and other ready-to-eat foods and operates a catering business that includes raw bars and traditional New England clambakes.

For events, its raw bars can include oysters, littlenecks, shrimp cocktail, tuna poke and ceviche.

Thursday night, however, oysters get the spotlight.

There’s an Art to Opening One

Anyone who has tried to open an oyster without knowing what they’re doing quickly discovers why professional shuckers make it look easier than it is.

The shell is designed to stay closed.

An oyster’s two halves are held together by a powerful adductor muscle, with a hinge at the narrow end of the shell. Shucking generally involves working an oyster knife into that hinge, carefully twisting until the shell releases and then cutting the muscle while trying not to spill the oyster’s natural liquor.

Technique matters for another reason: an oyster knife is being pushed against a shell that doesn’t particularly want to open.

That’s why a proper grip, a protected hand and keeping the knife pointed away from the body are important parts of learning to shuck safely.

Guests aboard ARGIA won’t just receive opened oysters. The event specifically offers a close-up look at the process.

The Raw Bar Happens Aboard a Traditional Schooner

The setting is a big part of the event.

ARGIA is a traditional two-masted gaff topsail schooner built specifically for passenger sailing.

The vessel measures approximately 81 feet overall and operates from Steamboat Wharf beside the Mystic River Bascule Bridge.

Once away from the dock, the crew raises sail and travels down the Mystic River toward Fishers Island Sound, with the exact route dependent on wind, tide and conditions.

Passengers may see Mystic’s historic waterfront from an entirely different perspective, pass beneath the railroad bridge and continue toward Noank and the islands beyond the mouth of the river.

ARGIA is a U.S. Coast Guard-inspected passenger vessel and can carry up to 49 passengers on its regular sails.

The experience is intentionally closer to traditional sailing than a conventional sightseeing boat ride. Passengers can relax on deck, but those who want to participate may also get opportunities to help the crew hoist or trim the sails.

Sunset Comes Earlier Now

The timing also changes the character of the trip.

ARGIA’s summer sunset cruises leave later in the evening, but after Labor Day the departure shifts earlier as daylight shortens.

Thursday’s oyster sail leaves at 5:30 p.m. and returns at approximately 7:30 p.m.

That places most of the trip across the transition from late-afternoon light into sunset and early evening.

Late September can also mean cooler temperatures once the sun gets low, particularly on the water, so an extra layer is worth bringing even when the afternoon has been warm.

Bring the Wine

ARGIA allows passengers to bring their own beverages, making it possible to pair the raw bar with beer or wine.

There is one important restriction: hard liquor isn’t permitted aboard the schooner.

Guests can also bring additional picnic food if they’d like something beyond the included oyster bar.

And because this is a sunset sailing, children under 10 are not permitted.

The result is one of those events that could happen almost nowhere but Mystic.

A local seafood company brings aboard oysters harvested from nearby waters. Guests watch how they’re opened, taste them raw and pair them with whatever they’ve packed to drink.

Meanwhile, an 81-foot schooner carries the whole raw bar down the river toward the Sound as the sun goes down.

That’s taking local seafood fairly literally.

More information is available at the Event Website link below.

To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.

Details

Event: Oyster Shucking Aboard ARGIA
Date: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026
Time: 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Departure: ARGIA Mystic Cruises, Steamboat Wharf, Mystic
Address: 12 Steamboat Wharf, Mystic, CT 06355
Length: Two hours
Price: $80 per person
Included: Onboard raw oyster bar by J&R Seafood Market featuring freshly shucked local oysters
Experience: Close-up look at oyster shucking during a sunset sailing aboard ARGIA
Drinks: BYOB; beer and wine are permitted, but no hard liquor
Food: Guests may bring additional picnic food
Age: Children under 10 are not permitted on ARGIA sunset sails
Vessel: 81-foot traditional two-masted gaff topsail schooner
Weather: Sailing route and operation are dependent on weather and marine conditions
Reservations: Advance booking recommended
Contact: ARGIA Mystic Cruises, 860-536-0416

 

 

Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.