There are many aspects of the biblical account that are irreconcilable with the ice floe idea. For example Peter, as he walked on the water towards Jesus, slowly sank. This is hard to reconcile with walking on an ice floe. And the sea was windy and rough, with waves tossing the ship around (Matthew 14:24), whereas the ice floe theory invokes a placid sea. Like many others, the academics making the ice floe claim apparently do not wish to acknowledge the reality of Jesus’ deity. Generally this is what motivates people to try to produce naturalistic explanations for biblical miracles such as this ice floe idea for the walking on water miracle. Their bias and worldview drives them to invent speculative and highly credulous conjectures to try to explain away well-attested historical events that they find unpalatable and threatening. Every year, and especially around Easter, the secular media promotes new anti-biblical theories about Jesus (e.g. that He was homosexual/drug-addicted/married) and about biblical miracles. Naturalistic theories endeavoring to explain away the biblical miracles are churned out ad nauseam by secular academia. For a rebuttal of these sorts of naturalistic theories in general, see Materialist ‘defence’ of Bible fails.
Jesus’ disciples were not stupid, and as fishermen (Mark 1:16–20; Matthew 4:18–22) some of them were intimately familiar with the Sea of Galilee. If Jesus had been walking on ice (or sandbanks, etc. as others have claimed) they would have known. Neither were the disciples gullible, but just as naturally sceptical of miracles as anyone else. For example when Mary Magdalene and other women first reported that Jesus had risen from the dead (Mark 16:10; Luke 24:11), the disciples initially dismissed what they said as ‘idle tales’. It is well worth contemplating what occurred to overcome their healthy scepticism. Neither were they hoaxers (2 Peter 1:16). Most of the apostles were eventually executed because they insisted that Jesus was the resurrected Son of God, and refused to deny Him. But if they knew that Jesus’ miracles were just tricks, such as walking on ice, why were they willing to be martyred? When confronted with Jesus’ miracles one is faced with a choice—To willfully deny the powerful eye-witness evidence, and instead use fallen human imagination to concoct vain and fanciful fairytales like the Galilean ice-floe idea. Or, to humbly face up to the fact that these miracles are authentic, and that Jesus truly is the living Son of God, as the empty tomb and the willing martyrdom of His disciples testifies. References
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Creation Ministries International
When confronted with Jesus’ miracles one is faced with a choice ... 
