By David Fuller BBC News Online, Hampshire

When complete, the Spinnaker tower "will pin Pompey to the map"

So for some the news that Pompey had poached the Global Challenge yacht race from the self-styled "Home of Ocean Sailing" ranked with Portsmouth FC's elevation to the Premiership.

It was sweeter still coming so soon after Portsmouth gave a new home to Southampton's shipbuilding industry when the Vosper Thornycroft yard moved down the coast.

So is this just a temporary blip in Southampton's ability to lord it over its south coast neighbour, or a sign of things to come?

A flurry of activity in the waterfront area, the Gunwharf Quays shopping development, the redevelopment of the harbour, and the forthcoming Spinnaker Tower are all combining to give Portsmouth a much larger presence.

I think Portsmouth has a heart and Southampton hasn't - Portsmouth has the pressures that make the blood pump through the arteries Graham Hurley, author

The tower in particular seems set to be become a national and international symbol of the city, as local author Graham Hurley says, to "literally pin Pompey to the map".

Soaring 500 feet (150 metres) from its Gunwharf Quays site, it will be the first thing seen by the hundreds of thousands of ferry passengers who pass through the city every year.

Talking to Portsmouth's great and good, they fairly bubble with enthusiasm as they reel out a list of major events coming to the city.

In addition to the Global Challenge, they point to The Great South Run, the forthcoming anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, a possible return for the Tour de France, the Tall Ships Race and the Festival of the Sea.

For Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock though, it is Vosper's arrival that is most significant for the city.

The Vospers shipyard had been based in Southampton for a century

"Bringing Vospers here was the breakthrough, we had to get industry again to take Portsmouth as a serious player. It's a big difference in our fortunes," he said.

The company was forced to move from its Woolston home of 100 years after it became clear the site was too small for expansion.

Mr Hancock continued: "I think Southampton had got a bit complacent, they felt they had everything there, and people and business would just go there as a matter of course."

"Uncursed by money"

While officials in Portsmouth refer you to their naval history and historic dockyard as much as the glitzy new developments of Port Solent and Gunwharf, their Sotonian counterparts invariably point to the West Quay shopping centre, and how it has pushed Southampton up the retail shopping index (up from 20th to seventh).

Southampton's West Quay Centre opened in September 2000

Impressive though West Quay undoubtedly is, it is hard to get people excited and proud of a retail establishment, even if it the largest city centre shopping development in Europe.

Visitors to Southampton might expect some reminder of its romantic past as the home of the great cruise liners and the port from which the Titanic sailed 90 years ago.

Aside from a forgotten monument in a city centre park, they would be disappointed.

Maritime history

Mr Hurley, who also lived in Southampton for 20 years, believes the difference lies in the way the two cities developed through their maritime history.

"Moneyed people passed through Southampton, on their way to the cruise liners, but never left their mark on it," he said.

He compares this to the way that generations of sailors have left their mark on Portsmouth, and the civic pride that developed.

"I think Portsmouth has a heart and Southampton hasn't - Portsmouth has the pressures that make the blood pump through the arteries, and I never found that with Southampton at all," he said.

As he points out, Portsmouth has several advantages over its South Coast rival, in particular it has a real, accessible waterfront area while Southampton is surrounded by a container port and industry on all sides.

The millennium project to redevelop Portsmouth's harbour has turned it into a real asset, and with more professional people expected to choose to live in Portsmouth.

"People really appreciate it, you go down on a Saturday or a Sunday and it's packed," said Mr Hurley.

'Healthy competition'

Dr Alan Whitehead, Southampton Test MP and former leader of Southampton City Council, accepts Portsmouth is making the most of its advantages, but dismisses the idea that it signifies a long-term change.

He says in his experience the relative fortunes of the cities change regularly.

"It goes in waves, when I became leader of the council in 1984 there was no building work at all (in Southampton), then Ocean Village happened and Town Quay - now Portsmouth is developing."

While Southampton officials are keen to portray the Global Challenge decision as a one-off, with the yacht race to return once Ocean Village is redeveloped, they must be concerned for the future of the jewel in the crown, the Whitbread Round the World Race.

The former incarnation of Ocean Village, with its bars and restaurants, died a slow death only a decade after opening, and is being replaced with mainly luxury flats - hardly ideal for hosting a sailing event.

A final piece of redevelopment may be to move the 'Home of Ocean Sailing' sign about twenty miles to the east...