I'm still gonna stand by my claim that the siyum I made was the first one in history to be done on Antarctic soil. If anyone from the two previous cruises would like to claim that title, then by all means - they're more than welcome to come forward and make that claim. But until that happens (and it probably never will), I'm keeping my flag planted.
Upthread there's a video for "first siyum in Antarctica". Considering this is at a minimum the 3rd organized trip to go, that claim is [citation needed].
Not really... there's a big difference between "first minyan" and "first siyum".
A minyan is something Jews try their best to make everywhere they go - heck, even at highway rest stops, at baseball games, and on airplanes. It's very common... so when you hear a group of Jews went somewhere together, it's highly likely they formed a minyan at some point. Therefore, it's safe to presume that they made a minyan, unless proven otherwise.
A siyum masechta, on the other hand, is far more rare. It's not something you usually do 3 times a day, every day... quite the contrary - it's something that's done (at best) only once in a while, and with expending lots of time and a great deal effort to accomplish it. Many people people never make a siyum at all, even while home, let alone while traveling! Therefore, even if Jews went somewhere (and especially when they've been there so few times), it's safe to assume a siyum was
not made there. Unless someone actually comes forward claiming that he did, the default "chazakah" is that it was not done.