About Us
01
Value Statement
For over 20 years TradeWinds Towing has become a respected leader in long-haul waterway towing from domestic operations, anchor handling evolutions to highly complex international tows to South America, Indonesia and even Antarctica, averaging over 10 Panama Canal transits per year. We operate a fleet of seven ocean going tugs, including open stern anchor handling tug, the ISABELLE, totaling over 26,000 horsepower. Through our highly experienced and professional team members, TradeWinds Towing stands ready to successfully navigate the most logistically complex maritime towing projects.
02
Towing Experience - Decades in the Making
1969
A Family Built at Sea
The story of TradeWinds Towing began in 1969 when Latham and Elsbeth Smith, driven by a spirit of adventure and a passion for life on the water, built the ocean-going tug ELSBETH. Designed for both work and family life, the captain's cabin was famously constructed around Elsbeth's piano so she could continue playing and teaching her children while at sea. The Smith family lived, worked, and homeschooled their children aboard the tug as they operated along the U.S. East Coast, the Bahamas, and throughout the Caribbean, completing tows of opportunity and responding to vessels in need.
TradeWinds is built on the experience and dedication of the people behind every operation. From the wheelhouse and shipyard to safety, logistics, and administration, our team brings decades of hands-on maritime knowledge and expertise to every project.
Dominique Smith
Owner & President
Ryan Babcock
Vice President - Operations
Theresa Bourgeois
Vice President - Finance and Administration
Nelson Eguizabal
Vice President - Marine Superintendent
Dylan Braun
Crew Manager
Operations Coordinator
Ted Dominguez
Director of Safety & Compliance
Anita Owens
Accountant
Kelly Linn
Purchasing & Facility Manager
Hector J Fernandez
Shop Foreman
London L’Hoste-Larson
Finance & Administrative
Associate
03
Leadership & Team
04
In Memory of Elsbeth Smith
A Pioneer, Matriarch, and the Heart of TradeWinds Towing
A true legend within the towing industry, Elsbeth Smith dedicated nearly three decades of her life to the sea and helped shape the foundation upon which TradeWinds Towing was built. A pioneer for women in maritime, she earned her towing license in 1973 and became one of the first women in the industry to hold such credentials.
Born in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1941, Elsbeth co-founded Smith Maritime in 1968 and spent years living and working aboard the ocean-going tugs ELSBETH I and ELSBETH II. She and her family traveled thousands of miles across the Caribbean, South America, and beyond, completing project tows, salvage missions, and challenging ocean voyages. Among her many accomplishments, she navigated the Amazon River to Manaus, Brazil while transporting drill pipe in 1974, completed her first transatlantic crossing in 1989, and in 1991 became the first American woman to complete a circumnavigation of the globe aboard a tugboat.
Life at sea meant wearing many hats. While raising and homeschooling her five children aboard working tugs, Elsbeth stood watch, managed crews, handled shipboard operations, sourced supplies, maintained the vessels, and worked alongside the crew in every aspect of life aboard. She began each day with the sunrise navigation watch before dedicating time to her children’s education. She also filled the vessel with music, keeping upright pianos aboard each tug and continuing her lifelong passion for playing and learning new instruments.
Elsbeth’s influence extended far beyond her years at sea. She was a co-founder of TradeWinds Towing and believed deeply in Dominique and Rachel Smith’s vision when they set out to build a towing company of their own. In 2005, she helped make that vision possible by investing her lifelong earnings toward the acquisition of MISS LIS, the first tug in the TradeWinds fleet.
Throughout the company's growth, Elsbeth remained a source of encouragement, wisdom, and unwavering support. Her dedication to family, seamanship, and perseverance became woven into the fabric of TradeWinds Towing.
Her legacy lives on through the company she helped create, the family she raised at sea, and every vessel that continues to carry forward the values she embodied: courage, integrity, curiosity, and a deep respect for the ocean.