Abstract: A cable winding system carried by a vehicle for extending and retracting cable responsive to vehicle movement. The cable frictionally engages a controllably powered sheave and is guided into a horizontally disposed coil by a cylindrical guide arm having a vertically directed opening adjacent the sheave and a downwardly, radially and circumferentially directed opening adjacent the coil. The guide arm is freely rotatable about a vertical axis so that as cable is extended and retracted the guide arm rotates to guide the cable between the coil and sheave. The powered sheave directs cable from the vehicle through an instrumented fairlead which, through a control system, controls the operation of the sheave. The fairlead is pivotally mounted about a horizontal pivot axis so that the head pivots in one direction as the cable is tensioned and in the opposite direction as the cable tension is relieved.