‘On the next day the great crowd who stood on the other side of the sea, saw that there was no other boat except the one, and that Jesus did not enter the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples went away alone. However boats came from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Therefore when the great crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.'
‘On the next day.' The next day after the departure of the disciples, thus on the same day as they landed near Capernaum.
Some of the people from the crowds, most of whom had probably dispersed, had known that there was only one boat, for they had themselves looked for one, and they also knew that Jesus had not been in the boat with the disciples when they left. This is made very clear. So they were undoubtedly puzzled as to where Jesus had gone, and how.
Not being able to find Jesus, they decided to follow the disciples, no doubt hoping to find that He would join them where they had gone. The only reason why they were able to follow was because some boats arrived from Tiberias, and they accordingly set out for Capernaum seeking Jesus. ‘Came to' may well mean ‘came on their way to'.
‘Boats came from Tiberias' This was probably not by accident. News reached them that a great crowd were eager to cross the sea and they no doubt saw the opportunity to make a profit. It emphasises how it was that they knew that there was no boat available that Jesus could have used.
‘Near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.' This drawing of attention to the previous eating of the bread is to connect it up with the dissertation that follows. Note that Jesus is here called ‘the Lord'. The Greek word kurios was used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) to represent the Name above every Name, the Name of YHWH, and Paul specifically applied this Name to Jesus (Philippians 2:9-11). John is here bringing out the divine nature of what was done. (‘After the Lord had given thanks' is omitted in a few ancient manuscripts, but it has very strong support).