The difference between a bark and a cat is relatively simple. A bark is a tall ship with three masts, a fore, a main and a mizzen and lots of sails, while a Catboat is a rather small sailboat with one mast and one sail which looks like an isosceles triangle with one side cut in half. No problem, right?

When you add the following terms, it starts to get somewhat harder: full-rigged ship, yawl, two-masted schooner, cutter, ketch, marconi-rigged sloop and staysail schooner to name a few. Well don't worry. Before the 129 days until the Parade of Sail which starts the America's Sail '98 at Glen Cove celebration on July 11 you'll see lots of information about the wonderful Tall Ships (and not so tall ones) which will be seen docked off Morgan Park, at the Glen Cove Yacht Club and the Jude Thaddeus Glen Cove Marina.

Unfortunately, Oyster Bay Harbor is not expected to get any of those boats as of now. Anthony Fabbricante of Oyster Bay had been trying to get Oyster Bay involved in America's Sail '98. He had tried the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Oyster Bay. "Oyster Bay wasn't that interested. I finally got a call from Greg Koke, but it was too late. Oyster Bay is getting no ships. They dropped the ball," said Mr. Fabbricante.

A town spokesperson said the reason the town didn't accept the initial offer is that the town doesn't have a dock that is large enough to accommodate large vessels.

"Part of the program required that we have a dock so that the public could board the vessel," she said.

The town now owns the waterfront area of Jakobson Shipyard, along with the state, but at that time, when the application had to be filled out, they did not have ownership. There is a waterfront development plan that is still to be implemented.

Mr. Fabbricante said there was a possiblity for Oyster Bay to get a few ships, if there is an overflow from Glen Cove.

"We'll see what the future holds," said the town spokesperson, "So far, the town has not been approached about handling any small vessels, although in the past they have had them anchor in the harbor."

But, Oyster Bay is still involved, through Mr. Fabbricante. Anthony Fabbricante, noted Long Island sculptor and a resident of Oyster Bay made the trophies for the race. The gold trophy was won in the last event, America's Sail race in 1995, by the Simon Bolivar. If they win the Class "A" race they will keep it, if not, their captain will present the trophy to the winner of the race that starts on Monday, July 6 in Savannah Harbor, Georgia and finishes on July 10 off Long Island. That trophy will be presented in Glen Cove.

Tony Fabbricante will present the silver trophy for the Class "B" race, on Wednesday, July 15 in Greenport. This will be the first time the trophy is given, the last time the race was cancelled because of a nor'easter.

In Glen Cove, leading the Parade of Sail from the gathering point off Pryibil Beach, will be a ship that's definitely not a sailing vessel. In fact, it's the Thomas Jefferson, a replica of a 19th Century Paddle Wheeler, with 90 people aboard her who are paying $50 for a gourmet brunch and the fun of escorting the ships the city of Glen Cove is hosting to safe harbors south of the Morgan Park Breakwater (jetty).

The Thomas Jefferson is well known in Oyster Bay. It has participated in several Oyster Festivals.

It is expected that the USCG Bark Eagle will follow her. Then, in alphabetical order, following the coastline will in all likelihood be the Barba Negra, a full-rigged vessel whose home port is Savannah, GA. Next, the environmental ship, Clearwater, replica of the Hudson River sloops which transported produce from upriver farms to downriver cities, and brought city products back to the farmers in the last century.

Replica of another ship which was well known on the Hudson River in earlier times, is the Half Moon, captained by Henry Hudson. She is a square rigger, another version of a full-rigged ship. If you squint a little when the next two ships parade by, you'll see the 24-gun British frigate which was dispatched to the colonies to quell the Revolution in 1776 and another full-rigged ship from the 1780s. Both are replicas -- the first one, the HMS Rose and the second, the HMS Bounty, used in the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty.

The HMS Rose and the Half Moon have visited Oyster Bay in the past.

The ship sailing behind these replicas is expected to be the majestic Libertad, from Buenos Aires, Argentina. With an overall length of 345', she is one of the largest and fastest sailing ships in the world today. As the Argentinian Navy's training ship, the full-rigged Libertad carries about 147 cadets and 125 in crew and officers. Brush up on your Spanish so you can speak with them as you tour this beautiful ship.

And, at the moment, the last ship in the parade which is officially part of America's Sail '98 is the Quinnipiack, a schooner from across Long Island Sound. Of course, that's not the end of the parade. The American Schooner Association, with a variety of traditional wooden schooners, has been invited to accompany the Tall Ships to the Hempstead Harbor docks. These ships range from 30' to 110'. And of course, last -- but definitely not least -- the boats which are docked and moored along our own waterfront.

So, study the silhouettes shown here and you'll be able to recognize each type of ship. You can also save this article and consult it as the Tall Ships and company pass you on shore vantage point on Saturday, July 11.

The Parade of Sail is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. For more information, to volunteer or to find out about a VIP brunch and viewing site, call Sunny Seitler at 676-7097.

To make a reservation for the gourmet brunch on the leader of the pack -- the Thomas Jefferson -- call 759-3129. For an official assignment in the Parade of Sail, send details about your ship with your name, address and phone number to Parade of Sail Committee, America's Sail '98 at Glen Cove, 3rd Floor, 9 Glen Street, Glen Cove, NY 11542.