Abstract: A water turbine drive system is described for generating rotational power from a flowing water stream. The water turbine drive system comprises a rotating machine driven by a water turbine disposed remote from the machine, where the machine and turbine are connected together by a tether member adapted to be rotated by the turbine and transmit the rotation and thereby drive the machine. The tether member permits positional movement of the turbine relative to the machine such that the rotational axis of the turbine need not be co-aligned with the rotational axis of a driven rotating member of the machine.